QSRs Look to Value Meals and New Menu Items to Drive Customer Traffic

BY Courtney Huckabay

With restaurant traffic stuck between a 1 percent increase and flat for several years now, U.S. restaurant chains are turning to value deals, new menu items, or optimizing menus to focus on high performing items in order to drive more customer traffic, according to The NPD Group. Total U.S. restaurant traffic ended 2017 flat and had it not been for a 1 percent increase in quick service restaurant visits, an increase primarily driven by chains, traffic would have declined, reports NPD, which continually tracks the foodservice industry.

Evidence that consumers are in fact looking for deals is that visits based on a deal offer, which represent 25 percent of all restaurant traffic, grew for the third consecutive year in 2017, up 2 percent from 2016. Non-​deal visits, which represent 75 percent of all traffic, were down 1 percent in 2016 and 2017, finds NPD’s foodservice market research.

This is true for AudienceSCAN findings too: 26% of Fast Food Lovers downloaded/​redeemed coupons from their mobile devices during the past six months. And 26.5% think newspapers are the best source for finding coupons.

Historically, quick service restaurants have grown their business by offering lower priced eats in the form of combo meals and value menus. Over the past few years, lower priced offerings have not been promoted as frequently, but many restaurant chains are thinking that it’s time again to focus on value deals. The world's largest restaurant chain launched a value menu in January, which offers items for $1, $2, and $3, and other chains will most likely follow suit in offering value deals this year.

Restaurants can let Fast Food Lovers know about these new value menus through TV and social media. The newest AudienceSCAN research revealed 51% of Fast Food Lovers took action after watching commercials in the past month and 46% took action based on social network ads.

New menu items are another way to get the attention of consumers, says NPD, and major chains welcomed in 2018 with a variety of menu introductions. “New items will drive traffic because there is a large group of consumers who are curious and want to try something new,” says Bonnie Riggs, NPD restaurant industry analyst. “They’ll try it once and if it’s really good, they’ll be back for more.”

New menu items are sure to appeal to the 13% of Americans who eat fast food three to four times per week, according to the latest AudienceSCAN study.

In addition to new menu items, chains are optimizing their menus by eliminating less popular items and focusing on the higher performing menu items. This is not only an operational efficiency for the chain, says Riggs, it also makes it easier for them to better market the popular items on their menu.

The diehards will notice these changes, so be sure to inform them. The most recent AudienceSCAN survey reported 5% of Americans eat fast food five times or more during a typical week.

It’s clear that major restaurant chain operators are pulling out all of the stops to get consumers to visit this year,” she says. “They’re doing all of the things that historically have caught the attention of consumers and driven traffic and they’re hoping that it works again this year.”

AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. Media companies and agencies can access AudienceSCAN data through the AudienceSCAN Reports in AdMall.


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