Do Daily Online Deals Really Influence Restaurant Guests?

6/10/2011

Technomic has found that online daily deals are attracting new and infrequent customers to participating restaurants. The Chicago-based food industry research firm also found that a high percentage of these customers claim they have returned to the restaurant without a daily deal and/or recommended it to family and friends. Furthermore, many write about their specific experience on social media sites such as Yelp and/or Facebook.

Key findings from Technomic's recently completed Online Daily Deals Report on restaurant goers' attitudes and usage of couponing sites include:

48 percent of deal buyers used the coupon at a restaurant they have not yet visited, and 25 percent used it at a restaurant they have only visited once before.
67 percent later returned to the restaurant without a daily deal.
83 percent recommended the restaurant to family and/or friends.
34 percent posted a review of the restaurant on a site such as Yelp or Zagat, and 25 percent wrote about the restaurant on their Facebook page.

"Consumers at all income levels appear to be very engaged in and satisfied with online daily restaurant deals," notes Bob Goldin, executive vice president. "They are subscribing to multiple services and purchasing multiple deals. The fact that 85 percent of consumers plan to continue to purchase online restaurant deals and 79 percent look forward to receiving them is a strong indication of the impact the online daily deal business is having and of its potential within the restaurant space."

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