Table of Contents
Scope and Themes
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- What you need to know
- Definition
- Data sources
- Mintel Menu Insights
- Consumer survey data
- Advertising creative
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
- Terms
Executive Summary
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- The market
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- Figure 1: U.S. casual dining sales and fan chart forecast of market, at current prices, 2007-17
- Market drivers
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- Figure 2: Consumer sentiment, January 2007-June 2012
- Competitive context
- Marketing strategies
- Menu trends
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- Figure 3: Top 10 cuisine types on casual dining menus, by incidence, Q2 2009-Q2 2012
- Figure 4: Top 10 nutritional claims on casual dining menus, by incidence, Q2 2009-Q2 2012
- Casual dining patterns
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- Figure 5: Food delivery methods, April 2012
- Consumer attitudes
- What we think
Issues in the Market
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- How can casual dining restaurants improve?
- How do gender differences affect casual dining preferences?
- How can casual dining restaurants attract younger consumers?
- Can casual dining restaurants appeal to all income levels?
Insights and Opportunities
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- Rebranding
- Value wars waged at lunch
- Focusing on Cocktails
- Menu innovation
- Technology
- Tabletop devices
- My Friday’s Tab
Inspire Insights
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- Trend: Let’s Make A Deal
- Trend: Life—An Informal Affair
- Trend: 2015 Access Anything, Anywhere
Market Size and Forecast
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- Key points
- Market size insight
- Sales and forecast of market
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- Figure 6: Total U.S. retail sales and forecast of market, at current prices, 2007-17
- Figure 7: Total U.S. retail sales and forecast of market, at inflation-adjusted prices, 2007-17
- Fan chart forecast
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- Figure 8: U.S. casual dining sales and fan chart forecast of market, at current prices, 2007-17
Market Drivers
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- Key points
- Disposable personal income showed marginal growth
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- Figure 9: Real disposable personal income, January 2007-May 2012
- Unemployment has fallen flat
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- Figure 10: Unemployment and underemployment rates, January 2007-June 2012
- Consumer sentiment declines
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- Figure 11: Consumer sentiment, January 2007-June 2012
- Restaurants have increased scope of focus
- Government legislation
- Health and healthful eating
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- Figure 12: Age-adjusted prevalence of being overweight, obese, or extremely obese, among adults aged 20 or older, 1988-2010
- Meeting the needs of young and old consumers
Competitive Context
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- Competitive overview
- Retail grocery
- Quick serves’ unexpected rise
- Trading down to fast casuals
- Happy hours enter the competition for casual dining
Featured Companies
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- Applebee’s
- Cheesecake Factory
- Olive Garden
- P.F. Chang’s China Bistro
- Rosa Mexicano
Marketing Strategies
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- Overview of the brand landscape
- Television ads
- Applebee’s
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- Figure 13: Applebee’s, television ad, 2012
- Bertucci’s Italian Restaurant
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- Figure 14: Bertucci’s Italian Restaurant, television ad, 2012
- BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse
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- Figure 15: BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse, television ad, 2012
- Chili’s Grill and Bar
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- Figure 16: Chili’s Grill and Bar Restaurant, television ad, 2012
- Romano’s Macaroni Grill
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- Figure 17: Romano’s Macaroni Grill, television ad, 2012
- T.G.I. Friday’s
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- Figure 18: T.G.I. Friday’s, television ad, 2012
- Print advertising
- Social media
- Applebee’s
- Chili’s
- Olive Garden
- P.F. Chang’s
- Red Lobster
- T.G.I. Friday’s
Menu Analysis: Casual Dining Menus
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- Key points
- Traditional American dishes appear most on casual dining menus
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- Figure 19: Top 10 casual dining menu item cuisine, by incidence, Q2 2009-Q2 2012
- California and BBQ dishes are the most expensive menu items
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- Figure 20: Top 10 casual dining menu items, by price, Q2 2009 - Q2 2012
- Steak sets casual dining restaurants apart from limited-service operators
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- Figure 21: Top 10 casual dining menu items, by incidence, Q2 2009-Q2 2012
- Steak holds the highest ticket price and helps to increase check averages
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- Figure 22: Top 10 casual dining menu items, by price, Q2 2009-Q2 2012
Menu Analysis: Marketing the Casual Dining Menu
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- Key points
- Freshness is by far the most common marketing claim on menus
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- Figure 23: Top 10 ingredient marketing claims on casual dining menus, by incidence, Q2 2009 - Q2 2012
- Juicy, tender, and signature marketing claims bring the highest prices
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- Figure 24: Top 10 ingredient marketing claims on casual dining menus, by price, Q2 2009-Q2 2012
- Nutritional claims surrounding diets and allergens show greatest increases
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- Figure 25: Top 10 ingredient nutritional claims on casual dining menus, by incidence, Q2 2009-Q2 2012
- Higher prices for nutritional claims surrounding current health trends
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- Figure 26: Top 10 ingredient nutritional claims on casual dining menus, by incidence, Q2 2009-Q2 2012
Menu Analysis: Casual Dining Beverage Menus
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- Key points
- Alcoholic beverages: margaritas, cocktails and microbrews are trending
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- Figure 27: Top 10 alcoholic beverages on casual dining menus, by incidence, Q2 2009-Q2 2012
- Non-alcoholic beverages: lemonade may be replacing tea
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- Figure 28: Top 10 non-alcoholic beverages on casual dining menus, by incidence, Q2 2009-Q2 2012
Menu Analysis: Casual Dining Kids’ Menu
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- Key points
- Chicken fingers lead kids’ menu items, and corn dogs have grown the most
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- Figure 29: Top 10 kids’ menu items on casual dining menus, by incidence, Q2 2009-Q2 2012
- Multitier pricing accommodates steak and grilled cheese options
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- Figure 30: Top 10 kids’ menu items on casual dining menus, by price, Q2 2009-Q2 2012
Casual Dining Restaurant Usage
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- Key points
- Applebee’s, Olive Garden, and Chili’s are high for lunch and dinner usage
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- Figure 31: Restaurant usage by daypart, April 2012
- Men and women show equal usage of casual restaurants for dinner
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- Figure 32: Restaurant usage by daypart – lunch, by gender, April 2012
- Figure 33: Restaurant usage by daypart – dinner, by gender, April 2012
- Older consumers show a decreased usage of casual dining for dinner
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- Figure 34: Restaurant usage by daypart – lunch, by age, April 2012
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- Figure 35: Restaurant usage by lunch – dinner, by age, April 2012
- Usage tends to peak and over index for the $75K-99.9K income group
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- Figure 36: Restaurant usage by daypart – lunch, by household income, April 2012
- Figure 37: Restaurant usage by lunch – dinner, by household income, April 2012
Check Average and Party Size
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- Key points
- Average spend per person for dinner is $4.64 higher than lunch
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- Figure 38: Check average and party size, April 2012
- Women dine in larger groups during both lunch and dinner
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- Figure 39: Check average and party size – lunch, by gender, April 2012
- Figure 40: Check average and party size – dinner, by gender, April 2012
- Consumers aged 35-44 spend the most per person for lunch and dinner
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- Figure 41: Check average and party size – lunch, by age, April 2012
- Figure 42: Check average and party size – dinner, by age, April 2012
- The $75K-99.9K group has the highest lunch party size and check average
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- Figure 43: Check average and party size – lunch, by household income, April 2012
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- Figure 44: Check average and party size – dinner, by household income, April 2012
Food Delivery Methods
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- Key points
- Consumers dine-in 73% of the time, while using pick-up 19% of the time
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- Figure 45: Food delivery methods, by gender, April 2012
- Older consumers dine-in most, while younger consumers use pick-up, too
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- Figure 46: Food delivery methods, by age, April 2012
- Lower-income consumers are more likely to use to-go services
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- Figure 47: Food delivery methods, by household income, April 2012
Changes in Consumer Behavior
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- Key points
- Consumers show similar behavior compared to last year
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- Figure 48: Change in dining behavior, April 2012
- Women look to deals and BFY, while men spend more and try ethnic items
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- Figure 49: Change in dining behavior – more than last year, by gender, April 2012
- Younger consumers are increasing restaurant use, but are value oriented
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- Figure 50: Change in dining behavior – more than last year, by age, April 2012
- Lower-income consumers trading down more, while affluent increase BFY
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- Figure 51: Change in dining behavior – more than last year, by household income, April 2012
Cuisine Type Preferences
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- Key points
- Contemporary American leads current ordering preferences at 29%
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- Figure 52: Cuisine preferences, by gender, April 2012
- Interest in Contemporary American and Seafood increase with age
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- Figure 53: Cuisine preferences, by age, April 2012
Desired Improvements
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- Key points
- Overall desire for value and BFY items, with men over indexing in salad bars
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- Figure 54: Consumer desired improvements, by gender, April 2012
- Young consumers seek social foods, while older consumers look to health
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- Figure 55: Consumer desired improvements, by age, April 2012
- Lower-income consumers desire all you can eat, while affluent want LTOs
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- Figure 56: Consumer desired improvements, by household income, April 2012
Brand Decision Factors
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- Key points
- Price and menu variety are the greatest factors used to pick restaurants
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- Figure 57: Factors influencing restaurant decision – any influential, by gender, April 2012
- Younger consumers rely on recommendations and online reviews
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- Figure 58: Factors influencing restaurant decision – any influential, by age, April 2012
- Lower-income consumers are most influenced by to-go services
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- Figure 59: Factors influencing restaurant decision – any influential, by household income, April 2012
Consumer Attitudes Toward Casual Dining
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- Key points
- Females use CDRs to socialize, and males don’t mind eating alone
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- Figure 60: Attitudes toward casual dining restaurants, by gender, April 2012
- The 18-34 group uses CDRs for dates and to visit with friends
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- Figure 61: Attitudes toward casual dining restaurants, by age, April 2012
- Low-income consumers plan ahead, and the affluent seek bold flavors
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- Figure 62: Attitudes toward casual dining restaurants, by household income, April 2012
Usage Groups
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- Defining usage group demographics
- Lunch
- Dinner
- Suggested improvements
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- Figure 63: Consumer desired improvements, by lunch, April 2012
- Figure 64: Consumer desired improvements, by dinner, April 2012
- Brand decision factors
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- Figure 65: Factors influencing restaurant decision – any influential, by lunch, April 2012
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- Figure 66: Factors influencing restaurant decision – any influential, by dinner, April 2012
- Consumer attitudes
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- Figure 67: Attitudes toward casual dining restaurants, by lunch, April 2012
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- Figure 68: Attitudes toward casual dining restaurants, by dinner, April 2012
- Additional charts
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- Figure 69: Restaurant usage by daypart – lunch, by lunch usage groups, April 2012
- Figure 70: Restaurant usage by daypart – dinner, by lunch usage groups, April 2012
- Figure 71: Restaurant usage by daypart – lunch, by dinner usage groups, April 2012
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- Figure 72: Restaurant usage by daypart – dinner, by dinner usage groups, April 2012
- Figure 73: Restaurant usage by daypart – lunch, by gender, April 2012
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- Figure 74: Restaurant usage by daypart – lunch, by age, April 2012
- Figure 75: Restaurant usage by daypart – lunch, by household income, April 2012
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- Figure 76: Restaurant usage by daypart – lunch, by dinner, April 2012
- Figure 77: Restaurant usage by daypart – dinner, by gender, April 2012
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- Figure 78: Restaurant usage by daypart – dinner, by age, April 2012
- Figure 79: Restaurant usage by daypart – dinner, by household income, April 2012
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- Figure 80: Restaurant usage by daypart – dinner, by lunch, April 2012
- Figure 81: Check average and party size – lunch, by lunch, April 2012
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- Figure 82: Check average and party size – dinner, by dinner, April 2012
- Figure 83: Cuisine preferences, by lunch, April 2012
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- Figure 84: Cuisine preferences, by dinner, April 2012
- Figure 85: Food delivery methods, by lunch, April 2012
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- Figure 86: Food delivery methods, by dinner, April 2012
- Figure 87: Change in dining behavior – more than last year by lunch, April 2012
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- Figure 88: Change in dining behavior – more than last year by dinner, April 2012
Appendix: Trade Associations
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