Consumer Trends: Page 3
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Wendy’s credits loyalty program, mobile app investments for customer growth
“The experience we deliver to our customers is the most impactful driver of our business,” CEO Kirk Tanner said.
By Bryan Wassel • May 7, 2024 -
Starbucks’ late-night delivery pilot ‘doubled our business,’ CEO says
A third-party partner prepared Starbucks orders for delivery offsite between the hours of 5 p.m. and 5 a.m., and the coffee giant aims to make a $2 billion business out of this model over the next five years.
By Emma Liem Beckett • May 7, 2024 -
Trendline
Top 5 stories from Restaurant Dive
Check out a selection of articles about some of the biggest trends — from the rise of dessert concepts to a cohort of Mexican chains trying to overtake Chipotle — shaping the restaurant industry in 2024.
By Restaurant Dive staff -
Sweetgreen targets dinner customers with steak
The salad chain is following up the successful rollout of protein plates last year with steak, which accounted for nearly one-fifth of dinner orders in a pilot.
By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • May 7, 2024 -
Sponsored by Square
The top restaurant trends in 2024
Restaurant owners crave tools that provide better insights that they can use to connect with their customers, integrate with other solutions, and receive real-time information about the health of their business.
By Natalie Zunker • May 6, 2024 -
McDonald’s credits speed, personalization for high satisfaction
The fast food chain is attracting consumers with customized messaging and cementing their loyalty with swift and consistent service.
By Bryan Wassel • May 2, 2024 -
Shake Shack’s kiosks are now its largest ordering channel
The chain added upselling options to its kiosks and made the channel’s customization experience more similar to online ordering.
By Julie Littman • May 2, 2024 -
Back to Basics: What builds a good snacking menu?
Diner demand for specific snack items depends on their mood, time of day and ease of travel, experts said, opening up an array of traffic-boosting innovation opportunities for restaurants.
By Danielle McLean • May 1, 2024 -
Starbucks’ mobile ordering is so popular, it’s slowing some orders down
Starbucks will roll out new procedures that will help workers reduce wait times, CEO Laxman Narasimhan said Tuesday.
By Bryan Wassel • May 1, 2024 -
Column
Pardon the Disruption: What the sudden loss of Foxtrot and Dom’s means for retail
Their demise underscores just how difficult it is to bring new, innovative ideas to life in the shadow of large-scale competitors and the grinding need for efficiency.
By Jeff Wells • April 30, 2024 -
Brix Holdings to buy Clean Juice
The Christian juice chain, which lost dozens of franchise locations over changes to its business model, sold itself for undisclosed terms.
By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • April 29, 2024 -
IHOP adds 2 new Virtual Dining Concept brands, expands another
IHOP is focusing on virtual brands as a solution to traffic problems in non-peak dayparts and thinks two sports-themed brands could lift sales.
By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • April 25, 2024 -
Why dynamic pricing sours restaurant dining experiences
Nearly two-thirds of consumers had a negative reaction to dynamic pricing, a HungerRush survey found.
By Kristen Doerer • April 17, 2024 -
Wow Bao links restaurant rewards to Roblox in platform-first integration
Metaverse hype may have dissipated, but brands remain interested in leveraging games like Roblox to connect with Gen Z and Gen Alpha.
By Peter Adams • April 11, 2024 -
Fast food is getting faster, data shows
Limited-service chains maintained an edge in traffic growth relative to casual dining, likely due to continued improvements in throughput, Placer.ai reported.
By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • April 10, 2024 -
Dynamic pricing firm Juicer snags $5.3M in funding
Restaurant pricing tools may help operators boost sales in lagging dayparts, but consumer sensitivity about these applications is still powerful.
By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • April 10, 2024 -
4 hot c-store flavor trends for summer
Sweet and spicy pairings, tropical fruits and international influences will see a surge as the weather heats up, experts say.
By Christine Blank • April 9, 2024 -
KFC adds $4.99 meal deal through year’s end
As restaurants across the board face dwindling traffic, the chicken chain is leaning on aggressive discounting to draw customers.
By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • April 8, 2024 -
How 6 casual dining companies faced falling traffic
From First Watch to Olive Garden, major casual dining restaurants saw inflation-conscious consumers cut back on visits.
By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • April 5, 2024 -
Dave’s Hot Chicken tests kiosks, bigger drinks in face of $20 CA wage
The fast-growing chain is raising prices 9% and testing tech that it says boosts check but doesn’t cut labor costs.
By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • April 1, 2024 -
Sponsored by Square
The Future of Restaurants Report: 2024 Edition
The Square Future of Restaurants report will give you insight into how global restaurant owners are staying competitive and what motivates customers to dine with them.
April 1, 2024 -
Restaurant sales rose 12% in 2023 compared to 2019: report
Consumer spending was up 7% year over year among the top 50 restaurant chains compared to 5% within the overall industry, per Circana data.
By Julie Littman • March 29, 2024 -
Opinion
Dynamic offers done right: Why Wendy’s was on the right track
Unlike surge pricing, dynamic pricing can enhance brand loyalty and foster a sense of community engagement beyond traditional marketing methods, writes Catherine Tabor, founder and CEO of Sparkfly.
By Catherine Tabor • March 20, 2024 -
Growing demand for alternative daypart options brings new opportunities for c-stores
Thanks to remote work and generational eating habits, consumers increasingly seek quick, flexible meals throughout the day, experts say.
By Danielle McLean • March 15, 2024 -
Starbucks debuts 2 iced lavender drinks for spring
The matcha and latte LTOs aren’t part of the new beverage platforms announced earlier this year, but capitalize on growing sales of cold beverages and tea-based lattes.
By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • March 7, 2024 -
First Watch will enter New England, Las Vegas as EBITDA nears $100M
After passing $1 billion in sales, the breakfast chain is eyeing new markets where its suburban-first system could insulate it from high development costs.
By Aneurin Canham-Clyne • March 6, 2024