Are restaurants wasting their time with discount vouchers?

7th September 2010, 9:07am

Restaurants could be wasting their time and money issuing discount vouchers as the majority of consumers (55%) don't base their decision to eat out on the availability of a money-off deal, found latest QuickBite research from market analyst Horizons.

Further figures found that only 17% of consumers use discount offers or vouchers and the 25% of diners who do use discount deals say they would have eaten elsewhere had the deal not been available, while 20% would have stayed at home.

Horizons' development executive Paul Backman said: "We have questioned the value of discount vouchers before and this research vindicates our belief.

"Vouchers are untargeted in that while they persuade a percentage of consumers to dine somewhere they are also being used by more loyal customers who would dine in that restaurant anyway and don't need to be persuaded with money-off vouchers.

"Deals in the eating out sector have become much more sophisticated over the past 18 months, but operators still need to work harder at attracting new customers, rather than purely rewarding existing ones."

Two-for-one offers are the most common eating out vouchers used by diners, with money-off coupons and 'meal deals' ranking second. Women (19%) are more likely to use discount vouchers than men (12%) with those under 35 the most common age group to use them.

The survey also showed how dining out is becoming more casual with a 9% decrease year-on-year in the number of people eating in a table service restaurant, with 5% more choosing takeaways and 7% more opting for fast food.

The value of the eating out market has increased 2.6% year-on-year from £31.4bn to £32.2bn while the total number of meals eaten out has risen by 3.2% from 2.84 billion to 2.93 billion to June 2010. 

However, while consumers are spending more per head when they do eat out – up 14.3% to £11.53 - they are eating out less often than previously, a year-on-year fall from 1.6 times to 1.4 times a week.

Related Articles:

• 07 Dec 2010 - Foodservice discounting could weaken restaurant brands, warns Horizons
• 30 Apr 2010 - Restaurants introduce tempting deals to boost sales
• 18 Aug 2009 - Restaurant operators urged to control costs
• 23 Jul 2009 - Canny diners find ways to eat out for less
• 10 Jun 2009 - Eating out is falling after hitting new high
• 16 Apr 2009 - Brits opt for chicken breast over sirloin steak

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