Menu & Promotions
Report Highlights
- RR’s Menu & Promotions analysis provides data for 56 chains (33 QSR and 23 FSR) including: (1) a 6-year history of total menu items (2015 – May 2020); (2) promotional mix by quarter; (3) new product intros; (4) average check; (5) daypart sales mix; (6) digital & off-premise sales mix; (7) menu category mix; and (8) monthly new product calendar.
Conclusion
- After years of gradual menu optimization and tech investments to simplify operations, the recent lockdowns and dine-in restrictions acted to accelerate these efforts.
- To this end, the average menu size contracted dramatically (-16.5%% for FSR and -3.3% for QSR) while off-premise sales mix has more than doubled for many FSR chains between year-end 2019 and May 2020. This data is derived from online menu counts but individual operators may have reduced their menus even further.
- New product intros (which had been stable for QSR over the last several years but declining for FSR) also declined sharply YTD 5/20 (-25% for QSR and -19.2% for FSR) as chains pivoted towards family bundled deals and free delivery as opposed to new products.
- 2019 average check growth moderated for QSR (+2.5%) but accelerated for FSR (+2.7%). QSR checks have increased +20% in 2020 due to larger family bundles.
- The Food at Home CPI continues to edge higher (+0.9% in 2019 and +2.3% YTD 5/20), narrowing the price gap between restaurants and grocery stores.