8 March 2010
Insights into America’s Major Dining Demographic Groups
Posted by Crystal under: News; Recession Tips & Tricks .
Restaurant owners who understand differences in attitudes and preferences among various dining demographic groups have an advantage by being able to connect with customers better. Different age groups of diners respond differently to marketing campaigns and dining incentives. Here are some highlights about three major demographic groups in the US: young diners, families with kids, and boomers and mature consumers.
Young Diners. This group of diners (ages 18 to 28) is considered to be a major market segment: young diners tend to eat out more often than any other age group, even though young diners generally prefer fast-food restaurants. Lower price point is the strongest draw for young diners, and majority of people in this group look for restaurants based on that sole factor. According to R&I’s New American Diner Study, this group of diners buys more than three meals away from home each week, they look for speed and convenience (fast food or fast casual), and they often check online resources for places to eat out. This age group is more likely than any other age group to use restaurant’s online ordering service. This age group is also willing to share entrees as a way to reduce their check size. In addition to price, young diners pay attention to healthy ingredients. Therefore, emphasizing that your restaurant makes healthy food at affordable prices would increase your sales to young diners.
Families with Kids. Families with kids are frequent visitors of restaurants, not only going there for breakfast, lunch or dinner, but also for snacks. This group is quite price-sensitive, and they often check prices online before visiting restaurants. Targeted coupons are some of the strongest draws for families with kids. According to R&I’s New American Diner Study, families with kids name fast-food operations as their primary restaurants of choice, and they are more likely to choose chain restaurants over independent ones. It is important to know that this demographic group visits fine dining or casual restaurants much less frequently than diners without kids do. Restaurants can attract more of this demographic group by offering more menu items for kids, family-seating areas, coupons, discounts, and family –themed dining events.
Boomers and Mature Consumers. Given their large ranks, boomers (ages 44-63) constitute a big group of American diners. According to R&I’s study, mature group (ages 64 and older) have more frequent visits to fine-dining restaurants than baby boomers (ages 44-63). Mature groups say that the economy did not affect their dining-out habits, and they agree more than any other age group that restaurant meals are worth the expense. Half of baby boomers dine out one or two times per week. More than three-fourths of baby boomers seek out healthy meals, they like to use coupons and special deals, and they also prefer to have more options in portion sizes. Boomers go to full service restaurants more often than younger diners do. They prefer restaurants with greater server-diner interaction. This demographic group is also more likely to listen to the server and order specials based on server presentation. In general, this age group appreciates a well-versed server who can explain what ingredients went into the meals, how food was prepared, and what wine would go well with each entree. It is no surprise that casual, family and fine dining restaurants dominate restaurant choices for this demographic group.
By knowing individual characteristics of each age group, restaurant operators can easily see how to intelligently use certain marketing techniques to win business from each age group more often.
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