Restaurant loyalty varies by generation, finds Technomic

July 16, 2014, Chicago – Guests' intent to
return and their reasons for doing so vary considerably by generation, suggests a white paper using data from Technomic.

July 16, 2014, Chicago – Guests' intent to
return and their reasons for doing so vary considerably by generation, suggests a white paper using data from Technomic.

Repeat patronage is
critical to most foodservice operators' success. However, guests' intent to
return and their reasons for doing so vary considerably by generation, as suggested in a recent white paper using data from Technomic's Consumer Brand
Metrics (CBM) program.

The paper, titled Keep 'Em Coming Back: Customer
Loyalty and What Drives a Generation to Return reveals that more consumers
report they will return in the near future to Papa Murphy's Pizza and In-N-Out
Burger than any other restaurant tracked. Papa Murphy's scores are driven by generation X and baby boomers, while more millennials than members of other
generations say they'll soon return to In-N-Out Burger.

"Millennials are looking for restaurants that not only
satisfy their hunger, but that they can feel good about," says Darren
Tristano, executive vice-president at Technomic, in a news release. "Older consumers, on the
other hand, place a higher priority on atmosphere and service."

Highlights from the paper include:

• In-N-Out Burger
  and Papa Murphy's Pizza garner the strongest intent to return. More consumers
  strongly agree that "I will return to this restaurant in the near
  future" for Papa Murphy's Pizza (54 per cent) and In-N-Out Burger (52
  per cent) than for any other restaurant tracked in the program. While
  limited-service chains, which are visited more frequently overall, generally
  outperform full-service concepts on this attribute, both Cracker Barrel (46
  per cent) and Texas Roadhouse (44 per cent) rank in the top fifteen restaurants
  overall.
  Among Millennials,
  In-N-Out Burger is the chain most likely to be revisited.
• Millennials place
  greater emphasis on the concept's brand image, agreeing more strongly than
  other generations that In-N-Out Burger supports local community activities,
  offers new and exciting products and is an innovative brand.
• Gen Xers and boomers are especially likely to say they'll revisit Papa Murphy's soon. Their
  motivations for returning differ, as generation X rates the brand most
  favorably on cleanliness, convenient location and beverage quality, while boomers score the chain most highly on service attributes, such as staff
  friendliness and payment handling.