Operations

Restaurant customers want more deals, drive-thru visits remain strong

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September 16, 2022

Restaurant customers are seeking out deals and mobile app offers, with three in four looking for discounts more often due to increasing menu prices, and two in three are downloading apps to find freebies and deals.

Those are top findings from Bluedot's seventh edition of its State of What Feeds Us report.

In response value menus are gaining in popularity, according to a press release on the findings.

The survey, which polled 1,631 U.S. consumers last month, revealed dramatic shifts in consumer restaurant habits due to high inflation, rising menu prices with drops in restaurant visits and consumers ordering fewer items off the menu.

For the first time, the report examined consumer sentiment around coffee chains in relation to QSRs and stated shorter drive-thru lines could be luring customers away from fast food restaurants.

"It's not just shorter lines, one in two consumers believe coffee chain drive-thrus are faster. The data also signals they're buying a lot more than coffee; 53% of consumers consider visiting a coffee chain when they're really hungry, often without a coffee purchase. When they want a specialty drink as well as fast food, nearly half of consumers say they make multiple stops," stated the report.

Also for the first time, the report investigated consumer sentiment around sustainability. While three quarters of consumers stated they see restaurants claiming to be environmentally conscious, nearly half don't believe the claims.

Consumers want restaurants to do more with sustainability — three in four consumers are more likely to visit environmentally friendly restaurants, but only one in three are willing to pay more for it, according to the release.

Plant-based is catching on among restaurant customers as three in 10 indicated they've tried out plant-based menu items.

A good majority of customers, 85%, viewed fast food restaurants as major contributors to the country's food waste problem.

With regard to mobile app engagement, the report revealed a 6% dip in mobile ordering over the last three months for the first time. Mobile order pickup remains a top frustration for consumers with one in three unwilling to wait longer than four minutes, according to the report.

"With high inflation, it's not surprising to see sweeping shifts in consumer restaurant habits. Increasing demand for priced-right menus via value deals, discounts and offers certainly presents an opportunity for businesses to not only woo customers but also nurture them into repeat customers, especially through apps and loyalty programs," Judy Chan, CMO of Bluedot, said in the release. "At the same time, companies should be very cautious about over adjustments to portion sizes. Consumers are clearly aware of shrinkflation and it could very well have a longer term, consequential impact on brand perception. Wait time has always been key to successful drive-thru experiences, an element brands have taken seriously, and this latest report is a strong reminder of that. Coffee chains with drive-thrus are very well positioned to pick off QSR customers and it will be interesting to see how that plays out in the short and long term as more drive-thrus across categories emerge," Chan said.