Take-Out Restaurant Meals Were Projected Way UP for Thanksgiving Were Your Sales Up?

 

Gen Z and Millennials had time off during the Thanksgiving break and they did not want to stay home and cook and or wash dishes all weekend.  That according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.

Once again, it’s all about convenience and cost savings.  In a new study by Popmenu found one-third of consumers (32%) plan to order takeout/delivery for Thanksgiving dinner this year while 17% plan to dine in person at a restaurant. Consumers under the age of 35 are the most likely to lean on restaurants with 42% planning to order takeout/delivery for Turkey Day and 20% planning to dine on-premise.

Let’ see what they found and Why Consumers Are Dining Out:

Consumers are relying on restaurants to supply their entire meal or certain dishes as they celebrate Thanksgiving. When asked why:

·         64% said it’s just easier

·         35% don’t feel like cooking

·         35% prefer professionally cooked food

·         24% estimate that it’s cheaper to order from restaurants than to buy all the ingredients needed to cook Thanksgiving dinner

What They’re Serving

While turkey is, of course, the star of the show, many consumers are featuring other main courses in their Thanksgiving spread. When asked what they plan to serve, consumers reported:

·         77% – turkey

·         42% – ham

·         27% – steak

·         27% – fish

·         20% – vegetarian options

What They Can Expect

Consumers will encounter more digitally-enabled experiences as they interact with restaurants this year. Restaurants partnering with Popmenu are running special online ordering events with limited-time menus featuring all the Thanksgiving fixings for pickup/delivery—multiple restaurants have already booked $10,000 or more in online orders.

With phones ringing off the hook, restaurants are also using AI phone answering technology to field calls, promote specials, and send links to place orders or make reservations.

Popmenu experts offer the following tips to ensure Thanksgiving runs smoothly:

1.       Do your homework. A quick Google search, phone call, or visit to a preferred restaurant’s website can guide you on menu options (with photos), portion sizes, allergens, and required budget for your party size.

2.       Order NOW and directly. Higher demand means restaurants will meet their order limits sooner and preferred pickup times will fill up faster. Order directly from the restaurant’s website to ensure your order gets in and to avoid third-party fees.

3.       Reserve a table yesterday. Popular eateries will book up early. Third-party reservation sites like OpenTable can keep you posted on what’s available in your area.

4.       Be prepared for delays. Even with specific pickup/ delivery windows and reservations, factor in a longer wait for your food (i.e., don’t skip the appetizer).

“More consumers are trading in their aprons for the convenience, taste, and potential cost-savings of having restaurants cook Thanksgiving dinner for them,” says Brendan Sweeney, CEO and Co-founder of Popmenu. “Ideally, you want to place online orders and book reservations a few weeks in advance, but you can still find special menus and deals this week. Check out restaurants’ websites and act quickly.” 

In addition to Thanksgiving, restaurants will play an important part in other popular holidays. One in four consumers (26%) plan to dine at or order takeout/delivery from restaurants for Christmas this year while 36% plan to do so on New Year’s Eve.

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

Restaurant Meals and Meal Components Drive Grocerant Growth

 

Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food continues to drive top-line sales and bottom-line according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Restaurants from fast food outlets to fine dining establishments are currying favor with consumers seeking an answer to the age–old question; What’s for Dinner. They are doing that by selling meals and meal components for take out and or delivery.  

In case you did not know the vast majority of U.S. restaurants (79%) report that their revenue is steady or growing, but a 34% average increase in their labor costs this year is eating into profitability and impacting hungry consumers.

So, what to do, well more than half are adopting new technology, including artificial intelligence, to manage labor deficits and costs as they work to meet strong consumer demand. This is according to Popmenu’s latest nationwide research on U.S. restaurant leaders and consumers.

The majority (75%) of consumers dine at or order carryout/delivery from restaurants at least once a week. Convenience is a key motivator for two-thirds of consumers, especially as their schedules grow increasingly busier: 38% say they don’t have time to cook, up from 28% last year. One in four consumers say restaurant dining has just become a way of life.

5 Restaurant Dining Trends to Watch

o    Willingness to pay for a table: Consumers can expect more competition for restaurant tables in the coming months—29% have tipped a host/hostess to get a table faster. Nearly half (46%) say they are willing to pay for a reservation.

o    Dialing back on dessert, alcohol and more: As consumers contend with inflation and tighter household budgets, 42% are reducing money spent on dessert, 35% on alcohol, 35% on appetizers, and 30% on side dishes.  

o    More demand for healthy fast food: 89% of consumers eat fast food at least once a week while more than half eat fast food two times or more per week; 38% of consumers say they typically choose healthy options when eating fast food.

o    More tech-enabled hospitality: 55% of restaurant operators are implementing new technology to help with the labor shortage, from marketing and answering phones to online ordering and online reservations.

o    Shorter hours: 44% of restaurant operators have reduced their hours, which may be a permanent operational decision—the majority say they’ve been able to generate the same amount of revenue with reduced hours.

 

“Restaurants have become part of the weekly, if not daily, routine for many consumers—which creates both opportunity and challenge,” says Brendan Sweeney, CEO and Co-founder of Popmenu. “Restaurants are understaffed. More than half are concerned about new minimum wage requirements for delivery drivers. You’ll see restaurants continue to evolve their tech stack to create more efficient and cost-effective operations, so they can keep consumers engaged and scale their business.”

Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideas look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how our Grocerant Guru® can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation, and individualization?  Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit: us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter