Return to Normal: Diners Ready to Get Back to Their Favorite Tables

What are pandemic-weary customers looking forward to the most in a return to "normal" dining?

With COVID cases declining across the country and the hope for spring temperatures right around the corner, consumers' pent-up demand for on-premise restaurant dining might be reaching a tipping point.  As of January 2022, according to Morning Consult's new quarterly report, "The State of Food & Beverage", 62% of adults in the U.S. said they were "very comfortable" or "somewhat comfortable" eating out. If COVID continues its retreat, Americans are poised for a big return to on-site meals.

There's no doubt that carryout, delivery and mobile ordering are here to stay. "Consumer interest in delivery was 7% higher during the fourth quarter of 2021 than during the same period the previous year and a whopping 107% higher than pre-pandemic levels," according to the 2021 Yelp Economic Report released in January 2022.  

But wait...just as many restaurants shift to fewer seats and more pick-up counters and drive-thru lanes, the word on the street from diners is "not so fast".  According to consumer feedback provided to the National Restaurant Association, most are looking forward to a return to traditional, full-service standards. 

A Taste for Experiential Dining
Sixty-eight percent of National Restaurant Association survey respondents favor a return to traditional table service compared to 32% who prefer ordering and paying via phone or tablet (Source: National Restaurant Association, State of the Restaurant Industry 2022 Report).  They're ready to get back to reading a printed menu and wine list, asking questions of the wait staff, taking their time ordering while settling in with a specialty cocktail, even paying the tab from a check personally handed to them. Global marketing data collector Premise reported this month that 61% of U.S. consumers have noted a decline in service quality, 76% cited reduced hours of operation and 60% pointed out fewer menu choices since the start of the pandemic in 2020.  Nearly half, 46%, said these changes have diminished their feelings about dining out. 

So yes, contactless, QR code-driven, digital menus have their place when it comes to health & safety and cost efficiencies. But a really good menu app can be expensive to develop and outside the budgets of many operators, and even the best can't match the visual and tactile appeal of a well-designed printed menu.  For many customers, having to click and scroll through phone or tablet screens - and often feeling rushed in the process - takes away from the meal itself, especially for fine dining brands.  According to a 2021 reader survey from Food and Wine Magazine cited by Kernow North America, only 26% of fine dining respondents would prefer using QR codes post-pandemic.  And with advances in durable, cleanable, moisture- and germ-resistant, easy-to-print synthetic media, neither operators or customers should have to compromise on quality or value. 

• Health & Safety Measures will be expected from both guests and employees. Interior signage, graphics and plenty of PPE will help communicate established policies and procedures.
• Outdoor Dining has become a 3-Season event, and guests will continue to expect this option.  Weather-resistant signage and graphics (and heaters) can help make exterior spaces as inviting as interior rooms.
• Healthier Menu Options, including smaller portion sizes and lighter beverages.  But keep those more indulgent items on the menu, too...you never know when a splurge is in order.
• Takeout and Delivery.  Don't forget the ready-to-drink cocktails, and make sure your packaging is sustainable!  The majority of today's consumers care - a lot - about eco-friendly packaging and will pay more for it!
• Loyalty Programs.  Today more than ever customers expect to be recognized and rewarded for supporting brands through the last two years - through points, freebies, discounts, personalized offers, etc.
• Technology.  It may come as no surprise that four in 10 Gen Zers want more tech incorporated into their dining experience, but just 25% of all adults agree.  Fifty-two percent believe there's plenty of tech already.

Age Matters

There's much to be said about the age factor when it comes to what consumers want from their dining out (or in) experiences. According to Hudson Riehle, Senior Vice President of the National Restaurant Association's research and knowledge group, "One of the most important things to come out of the consumer research this year is … the behavior, attitudes and expectation of consumers regarding restaurant meal solutions is widely, widely divergent by age category."  But whether you're a Baby Boomer or a Gen Zer, or somewhere in between, it's clear that quality, service, personal choice and health/safety fall into everyone's buckets.  It's all about knowing your demographic!

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Written by Susan Morgan