Quick-Service Restaurants According to The NPD Group, the $234 billion quick- service restaurant (QSR) sector, which accounts for 80% of total foodservice visits, experienced no increase in traffic during 2016, with lunch visits decreasing 2%. During Q2 2017, QSR customer visits were essentially unchanged from Q2 2016; however, visits to hamburger QSRs increased almost 13 million from last year. The QSR sub-category contributed the most to an increase in morning meal visits. 2016 research from The Hartman Group found that 48% of surveyed consumers visited a QSR for lunch, 34% dinner and 7% breakfast. Takeout orders were 64% of all orders and 38% said they visited a QSR alone.

Fast-Casual Restaurants Within the casual-dining category, there are casual dining restaurants, such as TGI Fridays, Applebee’s and Chili’s, and fast-casual restaurants, such as Chipotle Mexican Grill and Panera Bread. According to Nation’s Restaurant News’ Annual Top 100 Report (2017), casual dining had a 15.2% share of the top 100’s total 2016 revenues of $257 billion, although sales decreased at Applebee’s and Chili’s Grill & Bar, two of the four biggest chains. FastCasual.com’s Top-10 Movers & Shakers for 2017 are Blaze Fast-Fire’d Pizza, Eatsa, Slapfish, Burgerfi, Luna Grill, Shake Shack, &pizza, Dickey’s Barbecue Pit, Which Wich Superior Sandwiches and By Chloe.

Millennials Drive Casual-Dining Spending According to a September 2017 YouGov.com poll of adults 18–34, or Millennials (although there are some Gen Zers now in this age range), have been largely responsible for increasing sales at 11 casual-dining restaurants. The five casual-dining restaurants that received the top purchase-consideration scores for Millennials were Cheesecake Factory, 30.2; Red Robin, 27.4; Taco Cabana, 25.8; California Pizza Kitchen, 25.6; and El Torito, 25.0. As these and other casual-dining restaurants prosper with Millennials, Ruby Tuesday’s, Applebee’s, TGI Friday’s and similar chains have closed locations because of a decrease in Millennial traffic and sales.

Full-Service and Fine-Dining Restaurants The single-location, full-service restaurant sector generates approximately $187 billion in annual revenues, and enjoyed a 3.1% increase in annual growth during the period 2012–2017. CHDExpert reports that there were more than 4,500 US fine dining restaurants, as of March 2017, with independents accounting for 87.76% and chains, 12.24%. The sector generated $9.7 billion in industry-wide sales. The top-6 states with fine-dining restaurants is an eclectic mix, with Washington, DC, first, followed by Hawaii, Nevada, Rhode Island, Wyoming and South Dakota.

Happy Diners According to The Hartman Group’s Food Service Experience 2016 report, 59% of surveyed consumers were “very satisfied” with the quality of their meal/snack during their most-recent visit to a QSR, and 71% at a fast-casual restaurant. The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Restaurant Report 2017 revealed that full-service restaurants’ benchmark decreased 3 points from 81 to 78. The top three chains were Cracker Barrel, Texas Roadhouse and Olive Garden. The ACSI benchmark for the limited-service restaurant category didn’t change from 2016, at 79 for 2017. The top three chains were Chick-fil-A, Panera Bread and Papa John’s Pizza. Although #13 Starbucks had the largest increase, from 75 to 77.

Where Restaurants Advertised According to SMI (Standard Media Index), QSRs increased their ad spending 16% during the first two months of 2017, with out-of-home (OOH) increasing 137.9% during January and national TV, +24.3%, and digital, +15.6%, during February 2017. The entire QSR sector spent $184.1 million during January and February in national TV sports programming, a 29.9% increase from January/February 2016, with Domino’s increase the largest among specific chains, or 39.4%, to $16.9 million. In entertainment programming, QSRs spent $253.8 million, or 22.9% more than January/February 2016; however, spending in news programming decreased 7.3%, to a total of $5.9 million.

Advertising Strategies Restaurant chains that scored well in overall and/or customer-experience categories of the ASCI Restaurant Report 2017 should emphasize these accomplishments in their ad messages. Casual-dining restaurants that achieved high scores with Millennials in the YouGuv poll can target increases in traffic and meal purchases with local early morning news spots that drive viewers to a daily or weekly mobile coupon. With almost 90% of all fine-dining restaurants being independent establishments, they should highlight their history, their chef(s) and/or the use of seasonal or local ingredients to differentiate them from fine-dining chains.

New Media Strategies Restaurants of any type must make responding to negative comments or complaints online (Yelp, Foursquare, etc.) and almost immediately a priority, as this willingness to engage with disgruntled patrons will elevate the brand in the minds of readers of reviews. Since many adults love to cook, restauranteurs and their chefs shouldn’t hesitate to use social media to ask for menu suggestions or ideas for how to improve or tweak menu items or transform them into new, complementary suggestions. Videos are the content that receives the most attention on social media. Not only can chefs record videos of them “inventing” new menu items, but also invite patrons dining together to “interview” each other about what they are eating during the meal.