While three quarters of consumers appreciate the speed and convenience of getting meals via drive-thru, 24 per cent plan to do so less within the next year, according to research produced by Tillster.
The San Diego-based firm, which provides a unified commerce platform for multi-unit chain restaurants, surveyed more than 2,100 people in the U.S. to produce the latest edition of its Phygital Index Report.
Besides drive-tru, Tillster’s research showed consumers enjoy a variety of ordering and dining experiences. This includes the 59 per cent who use a restaurant-specific website or mobile app for in-store/curbside pickup and the 54 per cent who order delivery. However 61 per cent have also abandoned an order due to high delivery fees.
The customer experience (CX) within the sector may also be adversely affected by what Tillster described as “tip creep,” where consumers were being prompted to offer gratuities in an increasing number of scenarios. For example, 40 per cent of diners said they had abandoned an order because they felt pressured to tip.
Cost concerns have also lead 27 per cent of diners to lean on loyalty programs more often, though the report noted loyalty program use and satisfaction was higher among Millennials at 30 per cent, versus just 13 per cent of Gen Z diners.
There is also a difference between using a loyalty program and actually staying loyal: the report found 45 per cent of diners have switched their favorite restaurant over the past year.
“As restaurant technology stacks have grown more
complex, they have also contributed to fragmented
systems and disconnected experiences,” the report’s authors wrote. “As a result, customers are left to navigate inconsistent menus, ordering flows, and loyalty touchpoints across channels.
In a market where expectations are rising, and patience is
shrinking, these gaps are undermining customer trust, costing restaurants revenue and repeat visits.”
360 Magazine Insight
The jump in diners’ favorite restaurant is significant: Tillster noted only 35 per cent said the same thing when it released Phygital Index Report last year.
Unlike say, a fine dining establishment were decor and waitstaff play a larger role in the experience, expectations in fast food and fast casual come down to food quality, convenience and speed.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t opportunities for restaurants to differentiate on the basis of CX. In fact, 62 per cent of diners said they were pleasantly surprised to discover menu and ordering customization options they hadn’t known about before.
This may include kiosks, where orders have risen from 61 per cent to 64 per cent over the past year. I didn’t see mention of smart lockers in this report, but that’s another area that could be appealing for a growing number of restaurants to add to their pickup experience.
The report made clear that, despite some generational differences, loyalty programs are well worth the investment: 75 per cent of those surveyed said they had increased their spending at a restaurant due to the rewards they had earned.
There is a ton more in this gated 41-page report on the CX expectations around mobile apps, Gen Z’s inclination to make in-person visits and, of course, AI.