Visits to limited service restaurants (LSRs), which entice the thrifty and time-crunched patron, are up nine points since last year, according to recent data published in Technomic's American Express MarketBriefing. The good news leaves us wondering, what will keep these patrons coming back?
The report provided these important insights into what customers want:
- Overall, taste of the food ranked most important when dining at an LSR
- Free beverage refills are the highest incentive to spend more at fast food restaurants, where as premium meats/protein options are most important to fast casual restaurant patrons
- All-natural ingredients provide the least incentive to spend more for both fast food and fast casual restaurant patrons
- 73% responded they would like to substitute healthier items at no additional cost at an LSR
- 58% responded they would like the nutritional data for all menu items to be available at an LSR
- 43% of respondents under the age of 25 want more LSRs to have apps
- 36% of respondents under the age of 25 would use some sort of mobile payment system at an LSR
While convenience, quality and price continue to pull more customers into the doors of limited service restaurants, embracing technology or subtle changes to the menu may keep LSR patronage climbing.
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