Eateries in town have raise concerns about a significant drop in customers. This is after most of working class kenyans adopted a strategy to carry packed lunch. But why are they opting to carry packed lunch?
The government recently hiked the price of fuel. This led to a significant rise in fare and petrol. Therefore those working have to save by cutting costs. And the best way is to carry packed lunch. They then use money meant for lunch on other expenses.
Rise in food prices in various eateries has contributed to this new norm. Previously, basic lunch could cost at most 150-200 bob.. But due to high cost of living, eateries have raised their prices to counter. This has made the working class to look for alternatives.
Financial constraints is another factor. Most kenyans are living on a tight budget. This has made them to shift their priorities to pressing and unavoidable bills. Thus making them to carry their food for lunch instead of visiting the eateries.
Reduction in quantity in these eateries is also another perspective on why the trend is taking shape. Most eateries have addressed the issue of increasing food prices by lowering the prices to normal and decreasing the quantity of food due to worsening economic situation. This makes customers unsatisfied thus opting for enough packed lunch from home.
Quality of food has also become a concern. This is because the eateries have opted for low quality, cheaper and readily available products. This makes the food not as it used to be. This makes customers look for alternatives such as carrying packed lunch.
The worsening economic situation has made kenyans to become innovative in any way possible to keep theri extra coin in their pockets. This has hurt businesses in all sections.
Just the other day, a video surfaced on the internet about kenyan shops in major towns with stickers to let. This is after former tenants vacated due to lack of business.