Total at-home sales for August 2026 - including at restaurants opened in the last 12 months, or where deliveries and takeaways were added for the first time - were 9.6% ahead of the same month in 2025, the latest NIQ Hospitality a Home Tracker shows.
This means that the Tracker figure has been more than three times the rate of inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index, in every month of 2026 so far.
However, underlying growth in at-home sales has slowed this year. On a like-for-like basis, restaurants’ at-home sales rose by only 0.2% in August - the Tracker’s lowest point since February. After real-terms growth throughout the first half of this year, at-home sales have been softened by widespread heatwaves across Britain this summer, which have led many consumers to step out of home to enjoy the sunshine.
August saw restaurants’ at-home sales continue a long-term shift from takeaways to deliveries, the Tracker shows. Delivery sales rose by 3.4% from August 2025 on a like-for-like basis, but revenue from takeaway and click-and-collect orders slipped for the 17 th month in a row, dropping 7.1% year-on-year.
Delivery, takeaway and click-and-collect sales accounted for nearly a fifth (19.3%) of all consumer spending with restaurants in August, according to the Tracker. Deliveries attracted more than two thirds of this at-home revenue.
“Total sales growth for restaurants’ at-home sales shows consumer demand remains robust. It also suggests that managed groups are continuing to invest in their delivery infrastructure and expand their footprints,” says Karl Chessell, Director - hospitality operators and food, EMEA at NIQ.
“However, flat sales at a like-for-like level are a cause for concern at a time when operational costs continue to rise. Inorganic growth may also be coming at the expense of dine in sales, and margins are being shaved by the cuts taken by third-party delivery platforms.
“After a sweltering summer, operators will be hoping that autumn’s cooler weather helps to stimulate more restaurant spending.”