Q4 was a difficult quarter in a difficult year for quick-service restaurants (QSRs), as the pandemic raged on, temperatures grew colder and diners returned to the warmth and safety of their homes. 2020’s restaurant sales fell $240 billion short of expectations, and 2.5 million jobs...
Demand for meal delivery continues to surge, with consumers still favoring the safety of at-home dining. But the challenges built into the business model are becoming clearer by the day. Restaurants struggle to afford the third-party fees, while the delivery services have to fight to...
Anyone hungry? Awesome. In COVID-era ordering terms that’ll be 88 trillion tacos, 222.3 gazillion pizzas, and 900 oil tankers full of Diet-Coke, Sprite, Kombucha — the works. In a zesty “we’ll take one of everything on the menu” spirit, the January 2021 PYMNTS report, Delivering On...
The National Restaurant Association, the country’s (and world’s) foodservice trade association, released its annual State of the Restaurant Industry report on Tuesday (Jan. 26) compiling and analyzing data elicited from 6,000 restaurant operators and 1,000 adult consumers. The report looks at sales expectations for the coming year,...
Favorite restaurants are nothing new, but they’ve turned the COVID corner like so many other things. Favorite restaurant status in 2021 is expressed digitally. But, as the January edition of the Delivering On Restaurant Rewards brief series states, “Many quick-service restaurants (QSRs) are still facing cash flow shortages...
The pandemic may have shuttered many brick-and-mortar venues, but countless restaurants have adapted their business models to capitalize on what has rapidly become the most common way consumers now order and eat their food: online takeout. United States consumers spent a collective $486 billion on...
Starbucks has a winning recipe when it comes to taking care of its customers. The Seattle-based coffee giant’s loyalty program has 19 million active members that account for 48 percent of its annual revenue. Its users earn “stars” that can be traded for free drinks,...
Quick-service restaurants (QSRs) are overlooking a key piece of the data-gathering process that could enrich customer loyalty: onboarding. In this month’s Order-To-Eat Tracker, Jonathan Muhtar, executive vice president and chief concept officer at Red Robin, explains how collecting customer information like birthdates and food preferences...
Loyalty programs have been a mainstay in quick-service restaurants’ (QSRs) tool kits. Research suggests that given the enormous competition in the industry, however, free food and discounts aren’t enough to attract and maintain customers. QSRs are realizing the benefits of offering customized rewards geared toward...
