MAY 2024
Placing holistic guest behavior at the center of Foodservice strategy for Convenience Retail and Casual Dine channels will create new opportunity.
learning between channels
Leveraging our proprietary Dine360 Guest Path to Purchase Study, it’s time to focus on what Casual Dine and Convenience Retail can learn from one another to develop growth strategies for their foodservice traffic.
These channels represent notable mix of foodservice occasions. Both channels are experiencing decline in overall occasion count as guests face pressures and evolving realities. What can one learn from the other to drive engagement with guests?
unique guest occasions
How can we drive incremental routine behaviors that are brand building with learnings from a different segment with distinct occasions?
Convenience Retail
Convenience Retail favors the morning daypart (157 index to Restaurants) with a higher mix of occasions early in the work week (110 index), that are often made alone, with little planning (115 index) and as part of a larger trip (136 index) while commuting (171 index).
Cost (110 index), speed (107 index), and routinized behavior (126 index) continue to be differentiators for Convenience Retail occasions. Beverage importance is strong as a driver of occasions in this channel (133 index), but food, service, cleanliness and atmosphere lag restaurants with statistical significance.
Casual Dine
Casual Dine is anchored in evening dayparts (172 index) compared to other Restaurant segments, particularly on weekend nights (119 index, Friday-Sunday). These also skew towards well-planned occasions (106 index), focused on socialization (179 index), atmosphere (119 index) and relaxing (117 index).
With the reacceleration of Dine-In in this segment, we see declines in mix of occasions made on off-premise occasions like Take-Out and Delivery (each down 2 points in share of segment occasion mix). While potentially less profitable, these occasions can be revenue and overall traffic drivers during off times (weekdays, non-evenings), that build broader brand love and awareness.
Elevating food in convenience retail
Explore evaluating operations for where you can invest in building incremental routine behaviors outside of your core equity space.
One of the biggest gaps in motivations between Convenience Retail and Casual Dine are food based; guest perceptions of quality menu items and taste. While maintaining value and speed, consider elevated sandwiches, strong food and beverage pairing messaging, and how you communicate food offerings pre-trip to entice those impulsive guests reaching for a meal or snack.
Top Box Motivation of Outlet Selection in 2023 for Casual Dine, Total Restaurant and Convenience Retail
Beyond the table in casual dine?
Consider occasions for where you can invest to build revenue and loyalty outside of core social evening trips.
Gaps in motivations between Casual Dine and Convenience Retail are rooted in the opportunity to capitalize on speed and beverages. Given how Convenience Retail excels in Off-Premise, these elements are a great inform on how to expand take out and delivery occasions. Focus on timeliness of order preparation times, as well as simplification of ordering, as well as clear beverage menu messaging and offerings that pair well with your menu and guest.
Top Box Motivation of Outlet Selection in 2023 for Casual Dine, Total Restaurant and Convenience Retail
Each channel has unique strengths to share with one another—applying the learnings from one to the other potential to create growth and a lasting impact.
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