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Consumers swap meals out for dinner parties as cost of living crisis bites

Dinner party
Dinner party

£10 for some bread and olives? No thanks. As the cost of living crisis starts to bite, consumers are re-creating the restaurant experience at home instead of swallowing painful dining-out bills, John Lewis has said.

In its latest consumer trends survey, the department store found that sales of tablecloths, crockery and dining tables have all risen as "intimate dinner parties", made popular during the pandemic, are making a comeback.

Over the past week alone, sales of dining tables and chairs have increased by 28 per cent. Boards and platters for entertaining and hosting are also up 24 per cent, and dinner sets have jumped by 34 per cent.

John Lewis also notes that sales of champagne flutes and wine glasses have risen by 88 per cent over the past year, while table cloth sales have risen by 39 per cent.

The report found that four in ten people have held a dinner party in the last 12 months, while six in ten say they want to host even more in future.

'Entertaining and hosting at home is definitely on the rise'

Nicola Hattersley, partner and tabletop buyer at John Lewis, said: "Entertaining and hosting at home is definitely on the rise and we predict that more customers will be making memorable moments at home with friends and family over the coming months.

"To prepare for the uptake in dinner parties at home, we’ve seen sales of dinner sets, cutlery, glassware and serving items soar in recent weeks."

It comes at a time when spiralling costs are forcing restaurants to push up their prices. In July, the accountants UHY Hacker Young reported that restaurant insolvencies had risen by 64 per cent over the past year. It added that 60 per cent of the UK’s top 100 restaurants are making a loss.

Household budgets are also coming under strain, but industry experts said that consumers are still determined to celebrate special moments. However, they are having to be savvier about how they spend their money.

'Restaurant experience without the price tag'

Benita Tibb, co-founder of The Clicc, a company that rents tablescapes to customers hosting at home, said demand for their rental crockery and table arrangements had soared.

"More and more people are hosting parties at home to create the restaurant experience but without the price tag," she said.

"Matched with that is the increase in customers wanting to rent and be sustainable rather than buying items they may only use once. They are looking for a more cost effective model."

Ms Tibb said that people were also adopting a "do it yourself" mindset for their weddings and parties, with brides and grooms getting up early on the day of their weddings to lay their guests tables instead of using a traditional florist or decoration company.