Knowledge is power. And, so is data. Staying on top of everything from industry trends to insights means empowering yourself to chart your course forward and grow your restaurant business in 2019 and beyond. In this post, we’ve captured relevant industry stats that we think every restaurant operator will find worth knowing.

Industry Trends

Want to use what’s happening in the restaurant industry coupled with buyer behavior? Build relationships with your employees that amplify productivity and create lean, mean, awesome teams….and nurture your relationships with customers where they want to spend the growing percentage of the food budget they’re allocating to dining at your establishment.

• 18 percent of restaurant operators have had to halt hiring efforts to lower labor costs. (Source)
• 51 percent of diners go out to eat more than once a week. (Source)
• Over 200 million U.S. consumers visited a sit-down restaurant in 2018. (Source)
• Americans are spending 48 percent of their total food budget on restaurants, as opposed to 25 percent in 1955. (Source)

Growth

The pie’s growing ever-bigger – do you have a plan in place to increase your piece of it? Own your online reviews, manage your online reputation and presence, and get ready to grow for the long haul!

• A moderate increase in the Customer Experience generates an average revenue increase of $823 million over three years for a company with $1 billion in annual revenues. (Source)
• In contrast [to larger chains], some independent operators and regional chains continue to outperform the industry, with some growing at a rate of 4 percent to 5 percent. (Source)

Marketing

Websites matter to diners – so keeping your website and other digital channels on point and up-to-date, not to mention easy to navigate and use for guests should be high on your marketing priorities list.

• 90 percent of guests research a restaurant online before dining — more than any other business type. 57 percent of those guests viewed restaurant websites before selecting where to dine. (Source)
• When it comes to reviews, Google ranks as the top business and consumer review site (Source) based on audience size, traffic and bring friction-less for the customer. Investing in a strategy to encourage happy customers to review your restaurant on Google will take you further in the review-long run.
• The most common platform for restaurant advertising in 2018 was social media and is utilized by 63 percent of restaurateurs. (Source)
• 70 percent of restaurateurs rely on social media metrics to aid them in their marketing efforts, with 88 percent of restaurant owners leaning into the support of marketing agencies and services. (Source)

Customer Retention

As competition gets more and more fierce, keeping your guests happy and coming back—time and again—can’t be deprioritized. Personalized and timely communication, customized approaches to acknowledging their preferences and building an ongoing, personal relationship with customers are perfect steps on the path to nurturing guests into loyal customers.

• Among the most important things diners say they want restaurants to know are their names (65 percent) and favorite drink (50 percent). (Source)
• Today, 7 out of 10 U.S. consumers say they’ve spent more money to do business with a company that delivers great service. (Source)
• When customer service misses the mark, replying to a customer complaint online increases a customer’s advocacy by up to 25 percent (Source)

Technology

Thoughtful integration of technology platforms and systems offer guests the opportunity to satisfy their want to connect with you and your business and give restaurant owners the opportunity to go above and beyond guest expectations. Plus – it’s the access point to integrating delivery services…which you’ll see is a necessary tactic to implement in years to come.

• Over 80 percent of restaurants are turning to technology–like online ordering, reservation and inventory apps, and restaurant analytics–now more than ever to help them run their business successfully and efficiently. (Source)
• When placing an online order, a patron is more likely to use a restaurant’s website than a third-party site like EAT24. (Source)
• The most important tech features that guests crave are online reservations, free WIFI, and online ordering. (Source)
• Restaurant orders placed via a smartphone or app are now over 6 percent of the total orders made in restaurants. (Source)

Online Ordering and Delivery

While the need for getting on board with delivery will only become more and more important in the years to come, restaurant owners will need to think through their delivery entry strategy. Maintaining your quality of service, your customer experience, and choosing a system or service provider that doesn’t erode margins.

• In the last five years, revenue from deliveries jumped 20 percent, and the overall number of deliveries increased 10 percent, according to The NPD Group. (Source)
• By 2020, restaurants who don’t offer online food ordering + delivery will lose over 70 percent of their customers. (Source)
• 61 percent of millennials stated the availability of takeout and delivery options are an important factor in choosing a table-service restaurant.  Providing delivery could get a restaurant more customers. (Source)
• 70 percent of consumers say they’d rather order directly from a restaurant, preferring that their money goes straight to the restaurant and not a third party. (Source)
• 45 percent of consumers say that offering mobile ordering or loyalty programs would encourage them to use online ordering services more often. (Source)

Wrap up

We hope these restaurant stats have helped shed some light on important facts about the industry that are good to know.

Thanx has got your back when it comes to using tech to create meaningful relationships with your guests, managing your reputation and giving your repeat and loyal customers reasons to come back, time and again.