Waitrose has today launched a new report which uncovers key shopping, eating and drinking habits this year - based on millions of purchases in its shops and online, and new consumer research.

Findings include:

• Half of us now shop more like we're on holiday; little and often, locally, and focusing on fresh food for tonight.  Online shoppers choose twice as many cleaning and store cupboard products as in-store customers - freeing themselves to buy fresh baskets of food as they like. In London 40% of Waitrose sales are after 5pm, as people buy dinner on the way home. And three in 10 people now visit a supermarket three to four times a week - up from a quarter of us five years ago.

• Two thirds admit to being overwhelmed by the endless choice available - whether informal dining, music streaming or TV on demand.  We are responding by setting our own boundaries in the home, for example keeping certain nights free to eat together, or banning phones at the table. One in five have bought a meal deal this year, and littleWaitrose sales are up 25% - as people limit the choices they need to make.

• A third of us say pausable TVs and services like Netflix and iPlayer mean fewer TV dinners in our homes. But in general our mealtimes are more informal than ever - one in seven families use their dining room less than they used to, and a quarter of us eat outside more. 'Grazing' options in Waitrose shops have surged by 23% this year, and this casual approach is reflected in cooking too - we prepare more sharing plates and informal meals. 

• When it comes to health, eight in 10 of us no longer like to be told what's healthy and what's not. We are becoming our own experts - researching diets to suit our lifestyle. Sixty percent of us have set ourselves health rules this year. Of these, a quarter have committed to no alcohol during the week, 7.5% have tried the 5:2 diet, and a third have cut down sugar - by far the most popular way to manage health in 2015. Many are doing this by choosing mini versions of their favourites - whether ice creams or bottles of wine. Others have invested in a Nutribullet or a spiraliser. More than nine in 10 of us now believe in the saying 'everything in moderation'.

Waitrose Managing Director Mark Price, who announced yesterday that he was quitting the business next year, commented: “Our research has uncovered a fascinating phenomenon. In this 'open all hours' culture, two-thirds of us say we feel overwhelmed by the proliferation of choice available, and feel the need to reimpose boundaries when it comes to family life. In this report, we outline six key boundaries that have evolved and look at how people are, in different ways, replacing them with new ones.”
 
The Waitrose Food & Drink Report can be downloaded here