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Unlocking QSR Success in 2024: Insights from Post-pandemic Data

Unlocking QSR Success in 2024: Insights from Post-pandemic Data

As we began 2023, much of the restaurant industry believed customers had returned to pre-pandemic dining behavior. Standard indices supported the claims – month-over-month and year-over-year, traffic was stable or growing, and customers seemed to accept higher average...
Q2 2023 Consumer Survey Unveils Restaurant Spending Trends

Q2 2023 Consumer Survey Unveils Restaurant Spending Trends

Restaurant consumers are aligning their desire to eat out with the realities of inflation, according to Revenue Management Solutions’ most recent report — and for better and worse, the check reflects it.   Here are four things to know from the latest RMS consumer...

May 2023

US Quick-Service Sales & Traffic Performance QSR US traffic decreased by 1.9% YOY compared to last year when guests returned to dining out after Omicron cases slowed. Average price increased 10.6% YOY, though slightly down compared to last month’s YOY comparison...

February 2023

US Quick-Service Sales & Traffic Performance QSR US traffic is slightly down compared to last year, despite weaker traffic in January 2022 due to the spread of the Omicron variant. We anticipate YOY traffic to remain flat for the next few months.  ...
4 Things Every QSR Should Know to Increase Profitability– Part 2

4 Things Every QSR Should Know to Increase Profitability– Part 2

In a recent post, we shared two essential things quick-service restaurants (QSRs) should know in 2023 to increase their profitability. If you missed it, take a moment to catch up on why and how loyalty programs, coupons, menus and the ordering experience can play a...
4 Things Every QSR Should Know to Increase Profitability– Part 1

4 Things Every QSR Should Know to Increase Profitability– Part 1

Today’s restaurant consumers have changed. Not only do they perceive that restaurant prices are at their highest since Q1 2021, but they’re more price sensitive than ever and have even changed how they view menus. These changes in customer behavior aren’t necessarily...
Q2 2023 Consumer Survey Unveils Restaurant Spending Trends

We asked, they answered. What QSRs should know about value in 2023

As the economy shows signs, however slight, of easing its grip, saving money remains on consumers’ minds. Considering the economic climate, we asked our analysts around the globe for their thoughts on must-watch trends for Quick-Service restaurants (QSRs) in 2023. The...
AI and Machine Learning: The Secret Ingredients for Thriving QSRs – Part 1

How Much Price Is Too Much Price for QSR Customers?

The most recent third-quarter figures from the US Commerce Department indicate a 2.6% increase in the GDP. Compare that growth to the first half of the year, when the economy was headed the other way (downward), and if you squint hard enough, it may look like we’re...

November 2022

US Quick-Service Trends QSR US traffic is down 2.6% when compared to October 2021. Regarding month-over-month traffic performance, trends saw a slight decline compared to September (-1.7%). Pricing activity increased again. Year-over-year, average price increased by...
Restaurant Trade-Down Across the World

Restaurant Trade-Down Across the World

Key takeaways: Inflation rates are changing consumer behavior across the globe, with guests exhibiting QSR trade-down.Not all diners are spending less on FAFH; some are spending more.Data-driven information can help operators slow trade-down. In 2022, inflation hit...

August 2022

US Quick-Service Trends July QSR US traffic trends YOY align with previous months. Pricing activity rose to its highest since August 2020. Monthly average price jumped from 10.7% to 11.8%, but YOY trends are starting to level off. Breakdown of Monthly QSR Trends The...
2022 Insights: Germany Edition

2022 Insights: Germany Edition

In continuation with our global series of consumer insights, RMS surveyed respondents in Germany to learn more about recent restaurant consumer behaviors and the effects of the current inflationary environment on their dining habits. What revenue channel did guests...
2022 Insights: France Edition

2022 Insights: France Edition

As part of our global consumer insights edition, RMS surveyed respondents in France to learn more about how the inflationary environment has affected restaurant consumer behavior. Do guests believe the restaurant industry is better now in comparison to last year? How...
4 Things Every QSR Should Know to Increase Profitability– Part 1

Part one: QSRs Look Beyond Increased Prices to Address Inflation

Key Takeaways: Quick-service restaurants (QSR) can address inflation with a combination of menu engineering and pricingConsider product availability, and analyze your menu for what’s working and what isn’tInstead of resizing, reconfigure and consider what works from...
Dine-in restaurant guests share recent pain points

Dine-in restaurant guests share recent pain points

Restaurant brands are eager to keep diners coming back but may be surprised to find that it’s not always price that sends customers away. Diners have little patience for longer wait times, but upfront communication can help alleviate their...
5 Restaurant Trends You Need to Know for 2022

5 Restaurant Trends You Need to Know for 2022

A new year brings a new RMS report and trend predictions for 2022. Nearly two years into pandemic life, one might wonder, “Have we reached the end of the ‘new normal?” because as the latest findings indicate, the more things stay weird, the less they seem to change...
Fall 2021: Consumer Price Perceptions, Technology & Delivery

Fall 2021: Consumer Price Perceptions, Technology & Delivery

In this second part of our Fall series, RMS asked over 900 US consumers about their current price perceptions of restaurants and grocery stores, their behaviors when ordering delivery, and how technology influences their overall restaurant experience.
4 Things Every QSR Should Know to Increase Profitability– Part 1

What’s ahead for food costs?

As we look ahead to what inflation and food costs hold for the balance of 2021, restaurant operators find themselves in that strange spot between not great news but not bad news, either. Or, as Jennifer Bartashus, Senior Equity Research Analyst, Consumer Staples &...
4 Things Every QSR Should Know to Increase Profitability– Part 1

Your Top Restaurant Pricing Questions Answered

At RMS, we field a lot of questions from our clients. In the past 12-15 months, our clients have had new concerns, brought forward by reduced menus, an increasing number of digital channels, labor shortages and supply chain issues. But no matter the environment, one...
Study: QSR price trends do a bit of a flip-flop

Study: QSR price trends do a bit of a flip-flop

Recommended for youNewsGroundbreaking Research To Study Menu Design In The New Era Of Online OrderingOctober 2019Client Successes, NewsNoodles’ easier-to-read menus come with price increasesApril 2019NewsHow to handle menu price hikes as labor costs soarNovember...
Restaurant Trade-Down Across the World

What America’s spending its stimulus checks on

Recommended for youNewsRestaurants Get Sales Lift From Latest Stimulus ChecksJanuary 2021Client Successes, NewsFamous Dave’s Outsources Pricing to Sauce Up Its MarginsApril 2013NewsRevenue Management Solutions promotes its President of EMEA to Chief Marketing...
The impact of plant-based foods on restaurant recovery

The impact of plant-based foods on restaurant recovery

While the chicken wars flocked to new heights this year, another burger alternative is quietly growing its share: plant-based proteins. Not confined to a drive-thru sandwich, the category encompasses a wide range of grocery and restaurant options, including nut and...
Restaurant Trade-Down Across the World

A Look at 2021 Minimum Wage Increases

In 2020, 21 states raised their minimum wage. On New Year’s Day 2021, 20 more states did the same. Five additional states (Connecticut, Delaware, Nevada, Oregon, Virginia) and the District of Columbia will follow suit over the coming months, in addition to Florida’s...
AI and Machine Learning: The Secret Ingredients for Thriving QSRs – Part 1

Restaurant sales, traffic not so merry during holiday season

Recommended for youClient SuccessesTurning double-digit traffic decline into traffic increase and margin growthSeptember 2018NewsN.C. State students analyze how changes in a restaurant impact traffic and salesSeptember 2018NewsTo tech or not to techFebruary...
Restaurant Trade-Down Across the World

Restaurant Pricing in the Time of Corona

“Should I take price?” has been the primary question from our restaurant clients of late. Our answer, surprisingly, remains the same now as it was pre-COVID: “That depends.” We remain in the midst of the greatest challenge the restaurant industry has ever faced. Yet...
How to Improve Restaurant Margins With Better Delivery Pricing

How to Improve Restaurant Margins With Better Delivery Pricing

Delivery is on everyone’s mind right now. Restaurants traditionally oriented towards dine-in, have made significant moves to implement delivery options. As restaurants expand this contactless channel, they face a complex environment with higher costs to serve....
Restaurant Trade-Down Across the World

News from Europe: What does the restaurant industry look like now?

In June, RMS Managing Directors Philipp Laqué, based in London, and Nicolas Bordeaux, of Paris, shared the state of the restaurant industry in Europe and the UK. We checked back in with our European outposts this month, with additional insights from Rosa Blanco-Vegas,...
Sense360 Briefing with Dora Furman

Sense360 Briefing with Dora Furman

Recently our own vice president, Dora Furman, fielded questions from the Sense360 audience about the state of the restaurant industry. Watch the...
Restaurant Trade-Down Across the World

Pricing Post Crisis: What Should Operators Consider?

RMS’ Chief Strategy Officer Joel Davis leads our analytics and data strategy discipline and serves as a strategic consultant for many of our customers. He’s been asked a lot of tough questions lately about how to move into recovery – and what to do about price. Below...
Building carry-out and delivery sales

Building carry-out and delivery sales

It is understandable that there is a sense of panic in the restaurant industry. However, you can do things now to mitigate the effect on your restaurant(s). Our partner, Norton Creative, a restaurant marketing and design agency, has shared a number of initiatives that...
How to manage operations in this delivery-only time

How to manage operations in this delivery-only time

For most restaurants, there have always been three ways to serve guests and make money: dine-in, takeout and delivery. Now that government authorities, in an effort to help flatten the coronavirus curve, have required all dining rooms to close, you’re left with only...
Should you be taking price? How restaurants can deal with inflation

How to handle menu price hikes as labor costs soar

Recommended for youNews9 Painless Ways to Tackle Rising Labor CostsMay 2016Insights, News6 Tips to Help Restaurants Combat Higher Labor CostsJune 2017NewsRestaurant operators must plan for minimum wage hikes, other costsAugust 2014Client Successes, NewsNoodles’...
4 steps to understand customer satisfaction and pricing power

4 steps to understand customer satisfaction and pricing power

Customer satisfaction is the underlying factor that leads people to keep coming back to your restaurant again and again. The simple fact is this: when restaurant operators excel in running their businesses, diners will continue eating there. High customer satisfaction...
4 steps to understand customer satisfaction and pricing power

5 ways fast casuals can combat rising minimum wages

More states around the U.S. are raising the minimum wage in 2019. In total, 20 states will raise their minimum wage this year, with substantial increases of $1 in some states. For example, Maine’s increase will be 10 percent, Massachusetts’ is 9 percent, and...
Boosting sales by taking it up a notch on customer segmentation

Boosting sales by taking it up a notch on customer segmentation

Our Client’s Challenge A Mexican QSR chain with 900 corporate restaurants and over 4,000 franchise locations faced an uphill battle. The previous year the brand had launched a highly successful promotional campaign. Now it had to top that significant sales lift....
5 foolproof ways for restaurants to avoid serving up sticker shock when taking price

Pricing strategy counteracts minimum wage increases

Our Client’s Challenge One of the country’s largest quick-service restaurant (QSR) chains, with more than 3,300 company-owned and franchise locations, faced a challenging 10% increase in labor costs due to the rising minimum wage, putting great pressure on...
Is Dynamic Pricing Right for Your Restaurant Brand?

Is Dynamic Pricing Right for Your Restaurant Brand?

Many restaurant operators are taking advantage of dynamic pricing, but is it the right move for your brand? A few restaurants have been successful in executing dynamic pricing as a core part of their strategy, with the most well-known being Chicago restaurant Next,...
Is Dynamic Pricing Right for Your Restaurant Brand?

How dynamic pricing is changing the UK restaurant scene

Operators must constantly examine as many strategies as they can to drive footfall to their sites, increase spend-per-head and grow revenues. The latest trend to hit the restaurant scene to assist in doing just this is dynamic, or ‘surge’ pricing. It works by way of...
5 things to consider when choosing a delivery partner

5 things to consider when choosing a delivery partner

With consumers seeking convenience, it is no secret that the delivery trend is here to stay. The strong drive towards on-demand delivery has led many third-party providers including UberEATS, Deliveroo and Just Eat to enter the market. With a vast number of delivery...
Is Dynamic Pricing Right for Your Restaurant Brand?

What smaller chains should consider as they grow

Mine transactional data to understand customers and make smart decisions If you are the leader of a smaller, rapidly growing restaurant, you have to make decisions every day that may have a long-term impact on the concept’s success. Here are just a few examples: How...
Is Dynamic Pricing Right for Your Restaurant Brand?

How to Address Same-Store Sales Declines

Since March, our inboxes have been flooded with news of same-store declines, restaurant closures, and discussions of a recession. However, this news begs the question, are customers spending less? Or are they just spending elsewhere and our data simply doesn’t capture...

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