Involvement in eating out practices in contemporary Russia: Determinants in groups with different income levels

In Russia, as in the rest of the world, there has been an increase in the prevalence of both eating out and ordering ready-made meals in recent years. The article analyzes the practices of eating out and consuming ready-made meals in modern Russia. The empirical basis of the study consists of data obtained from two sample surveys of the Russian population conducted by the HSE University in 2024: the fourth wave of the sample survey of the population “Economic behavior of households” and the third wave of a special sample survey of highincome Russians. The findings of this study indicate that active inclusion in eating out practices among the general population is driven by two main opposing motives: “excess time”, when visiting public catering establishments becomes a form of leisure (typical primarily for students), and “time deficit”, when eating out or consuming ready-made meals through delivery replaces cooking, i.e., part of the housework is outsourced (particularly prevalent among middle-aged individuals with substantial workloads, both in the labour market and in their familial responsibilities, as well as among high-income groups).