Sponsored by Intouch Insight
As restaurants jump from one crisis to another - a global pandemic, to labor shortages, to skyrocketing fuel prices resulting in higher costs for just about everything - QSR and Fast Casual operators are doing their best to stay focused on what matters most: their customers.
And in order to better serve their customers, it is critical for brands to understand how and where customers want to interact, and adjust their operations to meet those ever changing needs and demands.
In this article we’ll examine:
- Key trends in changing consumer habits and expectations over the last two years for restaurants,
- Current satisfaction levels with online and mobile ordering, and
- How brands are performing in real life, when it comes to mobile ordering and delivery.
Trends in changing consumer habits and expectation
It’s no surprise that, in a North American-wide longitudinal study into changing consumer habits conducted between Spring of 2020 and Winter 2022 by Intouch Insight, dining-in has seen the greatest fluctuation in reported interactions with a food services establishment, from 14% of respondents saying they had dined-in amid lock-downs during the Spring of 2020 to 88% during February of 2022.
But what’s interesting is that the alternative methods, like drive-thru, curbside pickup or delivery, have seen minimal drop-off while restaurant guests return to eating at the establishment. And even though the use of 3rd party mobile ordering apps have seen immense growth, it still remains the least frequently reported method of interacting with a food service establishment.
Percentage of respondents who have engaged with a food service establishment in recent weeks.
To better understand what consumers want, respondents were asked about the #1 change they wanted businesses to make, and better online ordering capabilities has been a common theme over the last two years. It has continued to remain a high priority, surpassed only by cheaper delivery fees in the two most recent studies, as pandemic related concerns subside.
Top 3 changes consumers want businesses to make
As the data supports that online ordering is here to stay, let’s dig in further into that online ordering experience and whether or not brands are meeting customer expectations.
Satisfaction levels with online and mobile ordering
In a recent survey of 1026 people across the US, 92% of respondents who have used an online ordering app report their orders were delivered accurately.
When something did go wrong - which was the exception rather than the rule - missing items was the most commonly reported issue, followed by not following special instructions, receiving a wrong item, or a wrong size
The majority of respondents reported being satisfied with their experience using an online ordering app, with 64% giving a 5 out of 5 score for their experience when considering whether the app was easy to use, the menu was easy to navigate, the order was delivered in a timely manner and the order was filled accurately.
On a scale of 1-5, please rate your satisfaction with the fast food online ordering app.
All in all, consumers are happy with the overall ordering experience, so let’s see how brands are actually measuring up.
How brands are performing in real life
In February of this year, Intouch Insight’s 2022 Mobile Ordering Mystery Shopping study was launched to explore key brand performance metrics like ease-of-ordering, timing, accuracy, packaging, and fees. The early results collected from almost 500 responses so far indicate that the panel was generally very satisfied with their mobile ordering and delivery experience.
Questions were broken down by delivery company or app, as well as the restaurant brand that was ordered from, and shoppers gave favorable reviews on both counts. While 97% of respondents say that yes, they would order from the same delivery service again, and 92% report they would order from the same restaurant again, almost 40% of deliveries arrived later than projected, with the average delivery time sitting at 40 minutes and 50 seconds. This leaves plenty of room for improvement when it comes to getting food into customers' hands quickly.
From a quality perspective, 94% of shoppers reported that the food arrived neatly packed and not spilling out of containers, but less than half of hot meals arrived Hot or Very Warm, likely linked to the longer delivery times.
>> Delivery companies included in the study range from Doordash, Uber East, Skip the Dishes and more, and brands covered include McDonald’s, Five Guys and Chick-fil-A just to name a few. Sign up to access the full data from this study to see how your brand performed. Learn more about Intouch Insight’s Insider Research on Mobile Food Delivery.
As restaurants continue to compete for greater market share, having the right insights to inform business decisions can help keep you on the right track and ensure you are delivering on your brand standards. Download Intouch Insight’s Free Restaurant Trends Report to get more insights on Mobile Ordering as well as other key trends like, plant-based meat alternatives, new categories of competition and drivers of loyalty.
