TouchBistro: 45% of Diners Regularly Check Online Reviews Before Eating at a New Restaurant
The “How Diners Choose Restaurants” study released today from TouchBistro finds that the majority of restaurant goers (65%) surveyed say that food cravings have the biggest impact on their restaurant choice. The research also finds that if the food is good, 70% would re-visit a restaurant that had poor customer service. 80% of diners tried a new restaurant after receiving a discount or promotion. However, diners take their friends’ opinions seriously on where to dine, with 91% trying a new restaurant based entirely on a recommendation from a friend and 87% taking a recommendation from a friend more seriously than online ratings.
While classic restaurant marketing continues to be effective, digital marketing is also getting new diners in the door. According to the research, almost half (45%) regularly check online reviews before deciding on a new restaurant, while 59% look at the online menu, and 51% look at the restaurant’s website before deciding where to dine. 73% have used at least one online review source in the past 3 months, but less than a quarter (24%) look up a new restaurant on social media before committing.
Conducted by Maru Matchbox on behalf of TouchBistro, the study, featuring research from 521 Americans aged 18+ who dine out at least once a week, suggests that the most effective mix of traditional and digital marketing strategies need to take into account the demographics of diners that generally patronize the establishment, such as:
Millennials vs. Gen X vs. Baby Boomers
The research finds that Millennials have substantially different habits than Gen Xers and Baby Boomers. More than half of Millennials (54%) say they are far less likely to base their dining decision on the type of food versus 70% of Boomers. In addition, 66% of Millennials are eating out more than once a week; 16% more than Gen Xers and 12% more than Baby Boomers. Millennials are also significantly more driven by specific food options, like gluten-free, locally sourced, and vegetarian. Millennials are also more influenced by online reviews and popularity on social media, and are much more likely to look at online reviews (67%) and social media (34%) when making a decision than their Gen X and Baby Boomer counterparts.
Ballers seek new dining experiences: 86% of those who earn more than $100K/per year say they almost always look for new restaurants, with 62% looking at an online menu first.
Diners on a dime: Almost half (48%) making less than $50K/per year are less likely to avoid a restaurant just because it has negative reviews.
Urban vs. rural: Urban diners enjoy live music with their food (56%) more than suburban (43%) or small town diners (36%).
What’s Pushing Diners Out?
Predictably, health inspection warnings are the primary deterrent for nearly three-quarters (74%) of restaurant goers, but hearing that the food is bad from a friend ranked a close second at 69%. Waiting for a table longer than 30 minutes (55%) and bad online reviews (51%) followed as the top reasons why diners won’t consider a restaurant.
Complete Report Available
The “How Diners Choose Their Restaurants” study can be downloaded for free by clicking here.
About “How Diners Choose Their Restaurants”
This is the first year that TouchBistro has conducted the study focused on “How Diners Choose Their Restaurants”. The study was undertaken by Maru Matchbox on behalf of TouchBistro to gain insights into how today’s restaurant-goers choose the restaurants they dine at, including their dining habits, decision makers and deal breakers in the information age. The survey polled 521 participants across the US of varying ages, geographies and life stages.