FSR July 2023

First Course

As increasingly price-con scious consumers weigh their options for places to eat out, the promise of bang-for-your Buffets are back in a BIG WAY

buck at buffets can’t be beat. Restaurants with all-you-can-eat offerings like Golden Corral, Cicis, and Pizza Ranch are experi encing a meteoric rise in traffic from cus tomers looking to fill their plates with vari ety. When inflation began to dominate headlines in 2022, buffets’ baseline visit growth started to soar, according to a recent Placer.ai report. Foot-traffic data shows buffets outperforming both the full-service and fast-casual restau rant segments as of early 2023 by 91 percent and 74 percent, respec tively . And with the large array of food offerings buffets serve, the “no

vote” is eliminated—giving buffet chains the upper hand and oppor tunity to drive even more traffic from hungry customers.

TURN SAVVY SPENDERS INTO REWARDS LOYAL FOODIES

RESTAURANT REWARDS PROGRAMS have become a tantalizing recipe for financially savvy customers. Accord ing to MARIGOLD'S RESTAURANT INDUSTRY FORE CAST, 91 PERCENT OF CONSUMERS WILLINGLY TRADE INFORMATION LIKE A BIRTHDAY OR LOCATION FOR A DISCOUNT, and 42 percent of consumers say they’ll rely more on benefits as they continue seeking more value for their dol lars. Consumers also rated rewards programs as the most important aspect (by 67 percent) to building lasting loyalty. Donatos Pizza, for example, added nearly 135,000 new loyalty members in 2022 by mak ing on-demand rewards its key strategy, and increased its program pene tration rate to 51.4 percent as of February.

ADOBE STOCK (2)

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FSRMAGAZINE.COM

JULY 2023