CHICAGO – More and more consumers are showing decided preference for prepared food offerings at supermarkets and convenience stores over restaurants, according to a panel of experts at the National Restaurant Association Restaurant-Hotel-Motel Show, Supermarket News reports.

“Be afraid, be very afraid,” said Bill Cross, senior vice president for business development at Broad Street Licensing Group, to the restaurant industry attendees at the workshop “The Grocerants Are Eating Your Lunch: How Grocery Stores, C-Stores, Drug Stores and Home Delivery Are Taking Away Market Share.” The panel consisted of Cross; Jim Matorin, business catalyst for Smarketing; and Mike Sherlock, vice president of fresh food and beverage at Wawa.

Cross said crunch time for many consumers comes at 4 p.m. daily, when 80% of Americans have no clue what to fix for dinner. Those consumers are turning to grocery stores and other nontraditional food sources because of convenience. “They buy a rotisserie chicken, make a vegetable and they have dinner for their family,” he said.

Another trend that has benefited grocery and convenience stores is snacking, with Americans now downing 2.35 snacks per capita each day, said Matorin at the session. Restaurant meal and snack purchases declined from 208 per person in 2007 to 192 per person in 2013. Consumers are finding more grab-and-go meals at convenience, drug and grocery stores, he said.

Adding to the switch is the fact that convenience stores have expanded their grab-and-go offerings, said Cross. For example, Wawa’s Sherlock pointed out that his convenience stores debuted a fast-casual-food-to-go in 2012, with breakfast sandwiches, smoothies and hoagies. “We want to help customers get on their way,” said Sherlock. “We love [them] three to four minutes at a time.”