New research on the lunch market highlights the opportunities that still exist for convenience store retailers to capitalise on food to go.

The Mintel study shows that 41% who have bought lunch to eat out of home in the past month say they eat more on-the-go than sit-down meals.

This climbs to half of those who are employed full-time. Some 39% of UK consumers say they buy lunch to eat out of the home for an everyday occasion once a week or more, up from 35% in 2016.

Mintel reveals that Brits are not scrimping on price when it comes to lunch. Only 32% of those who buy lunch to eat out of the home look for the cheapest priced lunch item on Monday and 31% do so on Thursday and Friday.

Only 22% look for the cheapest lunch option when buying lunch at the weekend, says Mintel’s Attitudes Towards Lunch Out-of-Home UK 2017 report.

Helen Fricker, senior leisure analyst at Mintel, said the rise in the number of consumers choosing to eat out at lunch was due to a variety of reasons.

“The range of options for lunch on the high street has grown, which means those with dietary needs are far better catered to than in previous years.”