7. Customers Reset Mealtime Clocks

Context

Timing of breakfast, lunch, and dinner dayparts gets a reset as diners adapt to flexible work-from-home schedules.

Why it matters

For many foodservice operations, peak business times have undergone significant shifts. It may be time to adjust “Open for Business” signs and follow the road to increased traffic.

If meals once followed standard breakfast-lunch-and-dinner sequencing, that rhythm now is more free-ranging and fluid.

Relaxed schedules, hybrid workweeks, and shifting behaviors create new opportunities as consumers indulge in the freedom of less time-bound days. Brunch has moved from weekends only to daily; working lunches often have socializing on the agenda; late lunches become early cocktail gatherings; and dinnertime starts earlier, this late-afternoon iteration now without “early-bird” baggage.

Data from Uber Eats indicates that Restaurant owners are open to embracing the shifting day parts.¹⁵

Nearly half (46%) of the restaurateurs surveyed suggest they already actively promote off-peak dining, while over a third (37%) offer special promotions during off-peak hours.

Of these all-day opportunities, operators say if it improves cash flow, do it. Tapping restaurant technology is a good start point: Review traffic counts from the POS system to identify ebbs, flows, upsides, and opportunities.

Top Tactics to capture share of wallet:

46%_{^{mobile ordering via QR code}}

42%_{^{introduction of limited time offers/promotions}}

39% _{^{loyalty programs}}

38% _{^{changes in menu design}}

Great food, service, and value proposition are solid start points for repeat business.

Consumer loyalty is less about mass marketing and more about building, nurturing, and cultivating relationships through food- centric experiences large and small.

Offering experiences will engage customers. Incorporate different experiences, such as tasting evenings, trivia nights, live music, and cooking classes, to engage customers and encourage repeat visits.

_{^{Source: 15. Restaurant & Catering and Uber Eats}}
_{^{Pulse check | Restaurant Report 2023}}