4 consumer insights on discount dining

Many leading restaurant chains are struggling to fill up their seats and keep the lights on, and dining discounts are a key way to get customers in the door, shows new research from a RetailMeNot Google Survey. Four-fifths of customers say they’re likely to visit a new restaurant for a discount, and nearly half of all customers say they’d return to a restaurant even after a first poor impression if they were offered a deal.

Here are four other consumer insights on discount dining from the study.
 

Though the discount amount diners have in mind varies from person to person, the majority of diners say they’re willing to go the distance for a deal. Nearly two-fifths of consumers (38%) are willing to travel over 10 miles for a restaurant discount. And more than two-fifths of diners (43%) are willing to travel 4 to 10 miles for a meal deal. 

More than half of consumers surveyed (53%) have at least one food and dining app on their phone. Restaurant review apps are most common; about a quarter of consumers (24%) say they have these on their phone. Many of these apps offer diners discounts when they check in to a restaurant.

Just over a fifth of consumers (21%) say they have restaurant-specific apps on their phone, many of which feature loyalty programs with deal tie-ins. A fifth of consumers (20%) have third-party restaurant discount apps on their phone.  
 

When consumers seek out dining discounts, they tend to have certain types of foods in mind. Pizza, Mexican and Italian food top this list; about two-fifths of diners (39%) say they want to see more deals available for these types of foods. Over a third of diners (36%) also say they want to see more burger deals from restaurants. 

Families are more concerned about cost savings than solo diners. Two-fifths of diners (40%) are most likely to search for deals when they’re dining with their kids. In comparison, three in 10 consumers (31%) look for discounts when they’re dining alone.