Abstract
This report delves into the mind of the restaurant customer, examining how tightening budgets are affecting dining-out patterns, and what restaurants can do to keep and attract new customers.
This report closely examines the most important issues in the industry:
- The impact of the economy, and how restaurants can woo customers on smaller budgets
- The hottest trends, including specific examples of industry participants successfully embracing them
- The specific demographics that will remain constant despite hard financial times
Throughout the report, Mintel provides insight and guidance into what restaurants need to do to keep customers engaged. Consumer analysis includes details on restaurant visits, including frequency and motivations to eat meals outside the home.
Table of Contents
- Scope and Themes
- What you need to know
- Definition
- Consumer survey data sources
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
- Executive Summary
- Restaurant visits decline...
- ...driven largely by economic concerns
- Echo Boomers and cultural diversity offer bright spots
- Healthier alternatives abound, but what does that mean exactly?
- An industry rife with trends...
- ...with all segments "tuning in"
- The dining out consumer
- Market Drivers
- Meals eaten away from home threaten to decline
- Figure 1: Food sales at home and away from home, 2005-08
- Economic woes grip the nation
- The housing market
- The high cost of gasoline
- Figure 2: U.S. regular conventional retail gasoline prices, 2002-07
- Climbing food costs
- Echo Boomers a crucial consideration for the restaurant industry
- Figure 3: Generations, 2003-13
- Figure 4: Usage of fast food, pizza, casual, family, and fast casual restaurants in the last three months, by age, September 2007
- A diverse cultural landscape...
- Figure 5: Population, by race and Hispanic origin, 2002-12
- ...breeding a taste for ethnic flavors
- Figure 6: Interest in ethnic food, by cuisine, July 2007
- Americans eating healthier
- Figure 7: Attitudes toward food, 2003-07
- Innovation and Innovators
- Small plates
- Eco restaurants
- Super fruits and spices and ancient grains
- Off-premise eating and ordering online
- Lighter menus
- Nutritional labeling
- Buzzwords connote quality
- Premium meats
- Artisan
- Figure 8: Artisan ingredient menu items, 2004-07
- Locavore
- Restaurant Brand Qualities
- Restaurant case studies across the segments
- McDonald' s
- Opportunity quotient
- Pei Wei Asian Diner
- Opportunity quotient
- The Cheesecake Factory
- Opportunity quotient
- Denny' s
- Opportunity quotient
- Restaurant Usage, Usage Frequency and Mean Use
- Figure 9: Restaurant usage, usage frequency, and mean use in past week, by age, December 2007
- Figure 10: Restaurant usage, usage frequency, and mean use in past week, by household income, December 2007
- Types of Restaurants Used
- Figure 11: Types of restaurants visited in the past month, by age, January 2008
- Figure 12: Types of restaurants visited in the past month, by household income, January 2008
- Figure 13: Types of restaurants visited in the past month, by race/ethnicity, January 2008
- Disposable Income, the Economy and Restaurant Spending
- Spending at restaurants
- Figure 14: Spending at restaurants compared to last year, by age, January 2008
- Figure 15: Spending at restaurants compared to last year, by household income, January 2008Ways consumers have cut down on restaurant spending
- Figure 16: Ways consumers have cut down on restaurant spending, by age, January 2008
- Figure 17: Ways consumers have cut down on restaurant spending, by household income, January 2008
- Reasons consumers are spending more money at restaurants
- Figure 18: Reasons consumers are spending more money at restaurants, by gender, January 2008
- Figure 19: Reasons consumers are spending more money at restaurants, by age, January 2008
- Figure 20: Reasons consumers are spending more money at restaurants, by household income, January 2008
- Perception of and Adaptation to Restaurant Trends
- Health attitudes
- Figure 21: Health attitudes toward restaurants, by gender, January 2008
- Figure 22: Health attitudes toward restaurants, by age, January 2008
- Figure 23: Health attitudes toward restaurants, by household income, January 2008
- Figure 24: Health attitudes toward restaurants, by presence of children under 18 in HH, January 2008
- Customization and curbside delivery
- Figure 25: Attitudes toward customization and curbside delivery, by gender, January 2008
- Figure 26: Attitudes toward customization and curbside delivery, by age, January 2008
- Figure 27: Attitudes toward customization and curbside delivery, by household income, January 2008
- Reasons for Dining Out
- Aspirational/social reasons for eating at a restaurant
- Figure 28: Aspirational/social reasons for eating at a restaurant, by gender, January 2008
- Figure 29: Aspirational/social reasons for eating at a restaurant, by age, January 2008
- Figure 30: Aspirational/social reasons for eating at a restaurant, by household income, January 2008
- Specific occasions as reasons for eating at a restaurant
- Figure 31: Specific occasions for eating at a restaurant, by gender, January 2008
- Figure 32: Specific occasions for eating at a restaurant, by age, January 2008
- Figure 33: Specific occasions for eating at a restaurant, by household income, January 2008
- Relationship between dining out and dining in
- Figure 34: Reasons for dining out rather than dining in, by gender, January 2008
- Figure 35: Reasons for dining out rather than dining in, by age, January 2008
- Figure 36: Reasons for dining out rather than dining in, by household income, January 2008
- Food adventurousness as a reason for dining out
- Figure 37: Eating at a restaurant to try new cuisines and flavors, by age, January 2008
- Figure 38: Eating at a restaurant to try new cuisines and flavors, by household income, January 2008
- What Prompted Trying a New Restaurant?
- Figure 40: Factors that have prompted trying a new restaurant, by household income, January 2008
- Exclusive Consumer Groups
- Engrained restaurant diners
- Health-challenged value diners
- Socializers on the fringe
- Cluster distribution and demographics
- Figure 41: Dining out clusters, January 2008
- Figure 42: Dining out clusters, by gender, January 2008
- Figure 43: Dining out clusters, by age, January 2008
- Figure 44: Dining out clusters, by income, January 2008
- Appendix: Race/Ethnicity Tables
- Health attitudes toward restaurants
- Figure 48: Health attitudes toward restaurants, by race/ethnicity, January 2008
- Attitudes toward customization and curbside delivery
- Figure 49: Attitudes toward customization and curbside delivery, by race/ethnicity, January 2008
- Aspirational/social reasons for eating at a restaurant
- Figure 50: Aspirational/social reasons for eating at a restaurant, by race/ethnicity, January 2008
- Specific occasions as reasons for eating at a restaurant
- Figure 51: Specific occasions for eating at a restaurant, by race/ethnicity, January 2008
- Relationship between dining out and dining in
- Figure 52: Reasons for dining out rather than dining in, by race/ethnicity, January 2008
- Food adventurousness as a reason for dining out
- Figure 53: Eating at a restaurant to try new cuisines and flavors, by race/ethnicity, January 2008
- What Prompted Trying a New Restaurant?
- Appendix: Trade Associations
