QSR May 2023

SPECIAL REPORT

a boost, sure, but, in all, the drive-thru remains the separa tor. Casual and full-service restaurants generated somewhere around 8 percent of sales outside the four walls pre-virus. That’s climbed closer to 15–20 percent, depending on brand, yet the incrementality, Fox says, remains cloudy. Dine-in traf fic, although rocketing out of 2020–2022 lows, isn’t scaling as fast as off-premises, just as was the case in 2019. But fast casual? Disruption formed two branches. Some chains tagged convenience and an appeal to off-premises consumption as new defining traits. Drive-thru—once a dis qualifier—became a must-have. As did digital threads to piece it together, like apps and mobile ordering. The other branch, meanwhile, dug deeper into the roots—cuisine and on-site expe riential service. It’s hard to predict whether these lines will push closer or

further apart going forward. It’s likely the answer falls some where between extremes. The table stakes to compete won’t ignore either demand. One thing is clear, however: fast casual hasn’t lost its appeal. At COVID peak (the quarter ending June 2020), visits to the category fell 23 percent, year-over-year, according to The NPD Group. By year-to-date August 2021, they rose 8 percent and traffic was flat on a two-year basis. Simply, it didn’t take long for guests to find fast casual again. Per tech research and advisory company Technavio, the market value of fast casual in the U.S. is expected to grow to $28 billion, progressing at a compound annual growth rate of 8 percent from 2020 to 2025. Allied Market Research gave the global field a value of $125.6 billion in 2019. It estimates that will balloon to $209.1 billion by 2027.

>ORDER AHEAD EXPERIENCE

TOP FINDINGS FROM INTOUCH INSIGHT’S EMERGING EXPERIENCES STUDY:

Overall satisfaction is:

41 % HIGHER when the shopper reported it was easy to add items to their cart

5 %

34 % HIGHER

HIGHER

when the shopper was satisfied with their pickup experience

6 %

O % influenced by whether

when they order through the app rather than the website

when the shopper received an email confirmation of their order

HIGHER

the order was

ready when it was supposed to be

when the shopper was required to interact with an employee upon arrival

9 %

HIGHER

when the shopper reported it was easy to find the menu items they were looking for

15 % HIGHER

16 % HIGHER

when the shopper reported it was easy to modify their order

E-MAIL CONFIRMATION: ADOBE STOCK / TATIANASUN, USING PHONE: ADOBE STOCK / FIZKES, SHOPPING CART: ADOBE STOCK / ARUM, PIXEL FOOD : ADOBE STOCK / VECTORWONDERLAND, PICK UP ORDER: ADOBE STOCK / YURII, SMILEY FACE: ADOBE STOCK / EVOLVECT, CLOCK: ADOBE STOCK / MONTICELLLLO, FINGER PRESSES SEARCH BAR: ADOBE STOCK / SNIZHANA, EMPLOYEE IN UNIFORM HOLDING PAPER BAG :ADOBE STOCK / CHANAKON

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MAY 2023 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com