Nearly three-quarters of the time consumers get food from a restaurant, they are consuming the food somewhere else, be it in their car or at home or at work or on a picnic table in a park.
But that doesn’t mean they’re not concerned about what the restaurant gives them when they do decide to stay.
To wit: According to consumer data from Restaurant Business sister company Technomic, two notable items consumers say they want more of are music and free Wi-Fi. The percentage of consumers who say music selection is important increased from 43% in 2022 to 50% this year. Free WiFi increased to 45% from 41%.
“It’s all about takeout and off-premise these days, but those are on-premise elements,” Robert Byrne, director of consumer insights for Technomic, said at the National Restaurant Association Show on Monday. “Consumers still want on-premise elements that are enhanced when they go out to eat.”
The survey can help explain certain strategies at chains like Starbucks, which gets most of its visits now through drive-thru and mobile order but has focused as much on the in-store experience since the arrival of CEO Brian Niccol last year.
Byrne was talking during a session on strategies for winning in a tough environment. The session was moderated by Technomic Managing Principal Joe Pawlak, and also featured Foodservice Director Editor-in-Chief Tara Fitzpatrick along with Nation’s Restaurant News Executive Editor Alicia Kelso.
The restaurant industry has been “pretty sluggish” for the past 15 months or so, Pawlak noted. Total chain sales rose 3% last year, meaning the industry lost customers after accounting for menu price increases and unit growth. Costs are going up. The industry has seen a rash of bankruptcies.
This year, weather hurt sales further. And talk of tariffs have hurt consumer sentiment. “The whole uncertainty around tariffs from a consumer standpoint has really spooked them,” Pawlak said. When consumer sentiment declines, he added, “that makes consumers think about spending more judiciously” because they are worried about the future.
Restaurants can win in an environment like this, but it takes effort. Consumers want their restaurants to be sustainable, Pawlak said. According to Technomic, 77% of Americans say it’s important to be “environmentally conscious," up from 72% in 2020 and 2022.
They also want their restaurants to be innovative. Sixty-eight percent of Americans told Technomic that it’s important for restaurants to introduce “new, exciting products,” up from 62% in 2022.
But consumers also want their restaurants to be a good value, and Byrne highlighted Chili’s, which has seen same-store sales rise more than 31% over each of the past two quarters—and over 15% over the past four—despite an environment otherwise brutal for casual-dining restaurants.
They noted the chain’s 3-for-Me offer for $10.99 and up, and a Big Smasher burger introduced last year that targeted consumers frustrated by high prices at fast-food chains. “Value can come from anywhere,” Byrne said, “so why not casual dining?”
He also cited Taco Bell, which outpaced most of the fast-food sector in the first quarter with 9% same-store sales growth. The chain introduces a lot of new menu items and then markets them, which gets consumers hungry.
“They’re always hitting the menu board with something new, something exciting, and they’re able to turn that into advertising that makes you hungry,” Byrne said.
Consumers are looking for you to give them a reason to be excited about your operation, he added. “Diners love innovation,” he said.
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