Restaurants Can Redefine Value

As Coronavirus concerns continue to stretch on, consumers are stretching their budgets. How can the food industry begin to address customers’ overwhelming financial anxieties?  Restaurants have an opportunity to redefine value in the COVID era, beyond just price. Many restaurants have already taken the first step with limited time offers around pricing, takeout, family-sized meals and free delivery.  But restaurants can take this one step further by using groceries as a comparative frame-of-reference within their marketing strategy to redefine value. How does a delicious, no delivery fee, no preparation time, discounted meal for the entire family compare to the now higher cost of a grocery basket to prepare at home? For many consumers, it sounds better than the stress of going to a grocery store and being put at risk.

The fact is that takeout and delivery won’t be going away anytime soon. Once many restaurants reopen, consumers will be eager to resume eating at full service restaurants but it may take a while to get back to pre-COVID spending levels. They’ll be cautious about ordering in until Coronavirus cases have gone down drastically in their area. Even when we’re no longer sheltering in place, nearly three-quarters of consumers across all generations will retain many habits developed during quarantine, from stocking up on essential groceries to being mindful of health and sanitation practices and ordering takeout.

In this report, you’ll find data and insights around consumer perceptions and apprehensions that you can address when reopening your restaurant. Key takeaways from this report are as follows:

• 15% of consumers will order carry-out instead of dining in once social distancing has ceased
• 15% of consumers will order more shared and bundled meals once social distancing has ceased
• 29% are likely to spend more on meals from full service restaurants once their budgets improve
• 22% are likely to spend more on health-focused meals once their budgets improve
• 24% are likely to spend more on their food budget once their finances improve
• 76% say a restaurant’s cleanliness and food safety will matter more to them after COVID-19
• 69% say they will avoid crowded places, even if the government says it’s safe after COVID-19
• 40% say they will maintain their usage of takeout and delivery when social distancing eases after COVID-19

Download the full report from Datassential by clicking the button below.