RESEARCH RELEASED today [18th September] by Global MarketInsite, Inc (GMI) reveals that 60% of parents if young children believe that High Street chains do not make eating out or shopping a family friendly experience.
Despite recent campaigns to encourage the hospitality sector as a whole to cater for kids, two thirds of parents say that fast food restaurants were best suited to the needs of families out with young children.
Only 21% of chain restaurants and 13% of supermarket cages were considered suitable for pre-school children by parents.
Bottom of the pile however are coffee shops, with only 7% of parents believing available facilities suited their needs and pubs, where only 12% were satisfied with the facilities for their young families.
The research also outlined the top needs of parents of young children while eating out:
- Children’s menu (84%)
- Children’s entertainment ie crayons and colouring book (79%)
- Baby changing facilities (75%)
- High chairs and booster seats (71%)
- Children friendly staff (70%)
Ralph Risk, Marketing Director Europe says: “On the whole, parents of pre-school children feel that the British high street could do better at catering for their needs. There is a real opportunity to make simple changes, from training staff to be more child-friendly to adding new offers and facilities to encourage families to shop and eat out more together. These don’t have to be expensive for business owners – in restaurants a special menu and some form of entertainment were the top two optionsparents look for. With so many initiatives focused on making the high street more attractive and profitable, it’s a reminder that some simple changes can make a big difference to this particular group.”