Experts share insights on millennial dining-out decisions

When it comes to dining out, millennials are keeping some of their $600 billion in spending power at home, and marketers must understand how this key audience makes decisions if they want to woo them out of their nests.

That was the message presented during the recent webinar "Competing with the Refrigerator: Understanding the Millennial Decline in Dining Out" presented by Santy Integrated and hosted by Fast Casual.com. See full playback here.

Dan Santy, CEO and president of Santy Integrated, and Adam Pierno, director of brand strategy and planning for Santy Integrated, presented findings from their recent research on dining habits of Americans.

Dining out has declined by 20 percent among millennials since 2007. It's a trend that's likely to continue, said Santy and Pierno, because many millennials' habits were shaped during the recent Great Recession. That's left them more value conscious; 71 percent cite budget as their primary consideration when considering whether or not to eat out.

Key observations for marketers:

• Intercept millennials during the decision making process. Most millennials choose where they will eat out within the last six hours before dining. Well-timed messaging can raise brand awareness.
• The idea that millennials are not brand loyal is a myth. Millennials keep a short list of tried and true favorites and are reluctant to try new brands; they don't want to spend money on something that isn't a sure thing. Getting on the short list is key.
• Deliver a great experience by reducing friction. Brands can earn a place on millennials short list by delivering a great experience. For millennials, great experiences are friction-free: menu options can be customized, it's easy to split a check, etc. Marketing, operations and IT will need to work together to overcome operational challenges and deliver a user-centric experience.

Check out our Storify project for live tweets captured during the webinar: