Christine LaFave Grace, Associate Editor
Consumers ages 18 to 28 are foodservice's most avid user base, although they don't necessarily see themselves as such. The average Generation Y consumer purchases a meal away from home 3.39 times per week--a figure significantly higher than that for Generation X (2.54), boomers (2.34) and matures (1.93). Yet when asked whether they usually eat in restaurants only for special occasions, more than one-third said yes, versus around 25% of respondents in all other age groups. Casual-, family- and fine-dining restaurants dominate restaurant visits for boomers and matures, but fast-food establishments are most often the choice for Gen Y consumers: Four in 10 say that traditional quick-service outlets are their primary dining-out destination. Fast-casual also is a big hit with members of this group: Approximately 60% say they've visited a fast-casual restaurant in the last year. And although everyone is looking for a bargain, deals are a priority for Gen Y in particular. Seventy percent--up from 62% last year--say that lower prices would make them more likely to eat dinner out on weekdays.
Gen Y's Dining Profile
Christine LaFave Grace
According to R&I 's 2010 New American Diner Study, Gen Y diners (those ages 28 and younger) --
-- represent the only age group to buy more than three meals away from home each week, on average.
-- have a need for speed . More than half (53.2%) say they consider speed to be one of the top three components of good service when they dine out.
-- are twice as likely as those in other age groups to check out restaurant microsites ; 30.2% say they visit them.
-- are health-interested . More than one-third (37.5%) say that a wider choice of healthful menu items would make them more likely to eat lunch at a restaurant on weekdays. In comparison, only 26.7% of Gen Xers and 22.3% of boomers say more healthful options would spur weekday lunch visits.
-- were significantly more likely than older consumers to say they've been sharing entrees as a way to reduce their check size. Nearly six in 10 (59.5%) say they split main plates to cut costs, versus only 40.6% of Gen Xers who say they do.
Everything at Their Fingertips
Christine LaFave Grace
Though both groups are tech-savvy and tech-happy, Gen Y and Gen X have somewhat different patterns of Internet use. When asked about the ways in which they currently interact with restaurants online or via a mobile phone, here's how they replied:
Gen Y Gen XUse a restaurant's online-ordering service 43.6% 30.3%Subscribe to restaurant e-newsletters or e-mail offers 41.1% 30.0%Make a dining reservation 31.6% 23.7%Visit a restaurant's microsite 30.2% 15.6%Visit a restaurant's Facebook or MySpace page 17.5% 14.9%Watch restaurant commercials or videos on YouTube 16.9% 10.7%Follow a restaurant on Twitter 11.6% 4.8%Use text-messaged coupons 11.5% 5.1%
Opportunities for Operators
Christine LaFave Grace
Put it in Perspective . Smaller operations that don't have a dedicated Web team to analyze their online presence can benefit from merely asking younger consumers--managers' children, for example--to take a critical look at the operation's Web site: Is it easy to navigate? Is any relevant information missing? Does the home page look fresh or dated?
Evaluate value messages for mornings in particular . Gen Y diners were more likely than older diners to say they sometimes, often or always buy breakfast at a restaurant (both on weekdays and weekends), and a significantly larger portion of them than of older diners said lower prices would spur them to eat breakfast away from home more frequently.
Show 'em what you're made of . Emphasize ingredient quality and to-order preparations--"all-natural" and "scratch- or house-made" topped Gen Y diners' list of terms that would make them more likely to order a menu item.
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