How Do Consumers Make Dining Decisions?

Time on Your Side?

Time is tied closely to convenience in consumers’ minds, with nearly one-third of diners pointing to “quick dining experiences” as a factor when they select restaurants based on convenience. Moreover, time issues also strongly influence why people dine out: “time constraints/faster/don’t have time to prepare” ranks first among reasons consumers eat breakfast, lunch or dinner at quick-service or full-service restaurants during the week.

• Asian and black consumers equate time with convenience even more, with 46% and 37%, respectively, citing “quick dining experiences” among their top definitions of convenience.

• Although more than 40% of consumers say time issues drive their decisions to eat out on weekdays, this figure is significantly higher among Gen Y, Gen X, singles and non-white respondents as well as among persons who have children.

Location Matters

R&I ’s New American Diner Study once again emphasizes how crucial location can be to operators’ success. Not only is “located close to my home” consumers’ most commonly cited criterion for convenience by far, but also 47% of consumers rank it as the most-important factor. Telling, too, is that when asked what would make them more likely to eat at restaurants during the week, “restaurant locations more convenient to work, home or regular activities” proved a factor for one-third of respondents at breakfast, 38% at lunch and 34% at dinner.

10 to 19

Number of miles the plurality of consumers (35%) are willing to travel when choosing a restaurant; 29% will travel 20 to 29 miles. Males, singles, Asians, blacks, Hispanics and those earning less than $20,000 are more likely than other groups to want to travel less than 10 miles to get to a restaurant. When dining out on weekends versus weekdays, 78% are willing to travel farther, once again emphasizing the influence of busy schedules on dining habits.