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Friday, January 22, 2010

The Recovery: Room for optimism in the restaurant business

Consider this an update to my posting from January 18 (“How does the consumer define you?”).

In today’s Media Post Marketing Daily, there was an article suggesting gradual improvement in the restaurant business for 2010, citing a report from the National Restaurant Association. While the group acknowledges that more challenges lie ahead, they see good opportunities for restaurants that respond to evolving consumer preferences. If you read the second half of the story (Menu & Marketing Trends), you discover that the issues growing in importance include convenience, sustainability, and healthier eating.

Implications: This Media Post story seems to confirm that the recovery will go faster and farther for some restaurants than others, as determined by how well a company is tuned-in to the desires of their patrons. Convenience, in this article, seems to reflect the velocity at which people are moving right now; they want to be able to call ahead, browse a menu online (often via mobile phone), and have the meal ready for curb-side pickup or home delivery as a means of managing a busy schedule.

It was interesting to see the weight placed on “sustainability” in the story. During the recession, you heard some folks suggesting that “green” priorities would fade away as people placed more focus on their pocketbooks than on the planet (I was not entirely in agreement with that assertion). But it seems that folks continue to favor companies who make it a policy to be energy efficient, use locally-grown products when possible, and take other steps to preserve resources and protect the environment.

Mike Anderson

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