Providing an optimal dining-out experience means different things to different consumers. To be successful in creating a good experience, restaurants must understand what their target customer groups are looking for and match their offerings accordingly.

Consumers are busier and desire a convenient and efficient dining experience. This has caused consumers to seek faster and faster service, often opting for limited-service restaurants and are using out of store ordering options like to-go, drive-thru and delivery. Restaurants must keep up with new technologies to stay even with their competition, including offering online and mobile ordering and payment options, online brand interaction, mobile loyalty programs and using push marketing methods.

With Americans’ on-the-go lifestyle, many restaurant dining rooms are empty. Operators must grapple with how to lure consumers into restaurants for higher check averages. It is all about finding the right balance of technology and service, as well as finding ways to allow both to exist in the same space. The dining experience shouldn’t be rushed; however, maximum convenience and a unique experience will help drive traffic. Offering technology as an opt-in choice gives consumers power to control their experience, while not alienating those that wish for a more traditional experience.

This is a new 2014 report title centering on technology trends in the foodservice space. However, this report does build on the analysis in Mintel’s Dining Out Experience—US, April 2013, which explored both technology and ambience. This report covers both full-service and limited-service restaurants and focuses on how restaurants are utilizing technology to create operational efficiencies and marketing, as well as how consumers have adopted new technologies in terms of attitudes and behaviors.

For the purposes of this report, Mintel commissioned exclusive consumer research through GMI to explore consumer consumption of/attitudes and behaviors toward technologies in restaurants. Mintel was responsible for the survey design, data analysis, and reporting. Fieldwork was conducted in January 2014 among a sample of 2,000 adults aged 18+ with access to the internet.

Mintel selects survey respondents by gender, age, household income, and region so that they are proportionally representative of the US adult population using the internet. Mintel also slightly over-samples, relative to the population, respondents that are Hispanic or black to ensure an adequate representation of these groups in our survey results and to allow for more precise parameter estimates from our reported findings. Please note that our surveys are conducted online and in English only. Hispanics who are not online and/or do not speak English are not included in our survey results.

While race and Hispanic origin are separate demographic characteristics, Mintel often compares them to each other. Please note that the responses for race (White, Black, Asian, Native American, or other race) will overlap those that also are Hispanic, because Hispanics can be of any race.

The following abbreviations are used in this report:

The following terms are used in this report:

Generations are discussed within this report, and they are defined as:

*also known as Generation Y or Echo Boomers

** previously known as Post-Millennials, Matrix Generation

In order to provide an inflation-adjusted price value for markets, Mintel uses the CPI to deflate current prices. The CPI is defined as follows: