Gallup: Americans returning to grocery stores, restaurants as pandemic eases

A new Gallup poll finds more Americans are heading back to their local grocery stores and restaurants as the COVID-19 pandemic fades.

Gallup reported Wednesday that 37% of U.S. adults say they are shopping in person for groceries at least once a week, up six percentage points from last year.

The poll found that 83% of Americans eat out at least once a month, nine points higher than last year.

At the same time, 28% of respondents say they order groceries online at least monthly, up five points from a year ago.

“Despite technological advances and changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, most Americans continue to get their food by going to stores in person more often than any other way,” Gallup reported.

According to the poll, the number of Americans who order takeout from restaurants — 72% —  is “essentially unchanged” from 2018, and only 8% of Americans say they buy meal preparation kits.

Gallup found that parents with children younger than 18 are nearly twice as likely as nonparents to order groceries online. Parents are also more likely to order takeout.

Older Americans are less likely than younger adults to do either, the company reported.

Gallup conducted the randomized national telephone survey of 1,013 adults on July 5-26. The margin of error for all respondents was plus or minus 4 percentage points.

For more information, visit The Washington Times COVID-19 resource page.