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Millennials are a restaurant’s best friend

Photo by istock.com

August 29, 2022

The current economic worries driven by inflation aren't stopping millennials from dining out as 84% ordered restaurant delivery in the past month and nearly one in three millennials visited a quick service restaurant more, or much more, in Q2, according to data from RMS regrading dining habits of generational groups.

The good news for restaurants is that Gen Z diners were closing in fast on the millennials as 29% planned to visit a drive-thru more in the future — a spike of 18% since Q1 of 2022. Overall, Gen Z and millennials reported spending more on restaurants compared to 2021.

On the other side of the generational spectrum, boomers and Gen Xers seem to be feeling the biggest hit by inflation.
Additional findings included:

• Nearly half of the boomers reported getting less value from restaurants, compared to one out of four millennials.
• Value drops and price hikes are making a difference in boomers' dining behavior— 48% report spending less on restaurants today as compared to last year. Just 8% visited a QSR "more or much more" in the past month, only 7% went to a national chain more often and just 8% intend to increase their drive-thru visits.
• The only bright spot with the oldest generation was delivery. Though frequency is far less than that of the other generations, 33% ordered delivery in the past month, an increase from 27% in Q1 2022. This may indicate that older gens may have formed post-pandemic habits — in May 2020, just 15% anticipated using delivery more or much more.