Restaurateurs Rejoice Millennials Will Drive Revenue

The restaurant industry added 271,300 jobs in 2019 (BLS) indicating that the undercurrent of consumer attraction to the industry is not waning according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. 

While year over year restaurant sector customer counts continue to slide the sector job growth combined with new restaurants and restaurant meal outlets the total sector is strong thanks to Millennials. According to new research from 5W Public Relations, dining out and experiences rank at the top of the list of categories that consumers, especially younger consumers such as Millennials, are most likely to splurge on.

5W Public Relations new 2020 Consumer Culture Report shows that dining out and travel/experiences ranked first and second respectively across all generations as the most splurge-worthy categories, beating out fashion, beauty, electronics, and health among others. Overall the consumer categories ranked in the following order:

1.        Dining Out 43%

2.        Travel/Experiences 41%

3.        Snacks 39%

4.        Electronics 35%

5W CEO and Founder Ronn Torossian stated "Our data shows that the trend of buying experiences over possessions is not only on the rise, but that people are willing to spend the highest amount of money on these categories," said. "There is a huge opportunity for growth and expansion in the travel, entertainment, hospitality and restaurant industries this year. Furthermore, all consumer brands need to realize that their customers value experiences first, and tailor their messaging to capture this want."

Get this specifically, Millennials are projected to spend $1.4 trillion in 2020. Their No. 1 "splurge" is dining out, according to the report. In addition, at least 68% of them prefer finding new products in-store to finding them online, and 83% of Millennials say it’s important for the companies they buy from to align with their beliefs and values. 

So, while many chain restaurants have failed to evolve with consumers as Black Box Intelligence continue to report new restaurants focused on grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared portable food continue to drive sector growth.  Is your brand evolving with consumers fast enough?  Have you considered growing top line sales and bottom line profits with new grocerant niche fresh foods?  

I just want to repeat that Millennials are projected to spend $1.4 trillion in 2020 and their #1 “splurge” is dining out.  Eating-Out while Eating-In as regular readers of this blog know the fastest growing trend within the sector.   Success does leave clues and $1.4 trillion is a big pile of cash. Are you doing all you can to drive incremental sale?

Invite Foodservice Solutions® to complete a Grocerant Program Assessment, Grocerant ScoreCard, or for product positioning or placement assistance, or call our Grocerant Guru®.  Since 1991 www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. Contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or 253-759-7869