81% of US consumers dine out at least once a month: But they’re increasingly looking for good value beyond just low prices.
The nation’s largest fast- food chains race to the bottom: Taco Bell and Sonic joined Starbucks, McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s in rolling out low-cost value meals to attract cost-conscious consumers.
Malls need to evolve: While the pivot toward more restaurants and recreational experiences has been fairly smooth for upscale malls, those beyond the top tier are struggling.
Buying Tock will deal a blow to Chase and puts Capital One’s dining reservation partnership back in play.
Olive Garden parent Darden Restaurants braces for slower growth: The company expects same-store sales to increase by just 1% to 2% in fiscal 2025, as lower-income diners pull back.
McDonald's pulls the plug on automated order-taking: A series of blunders reveals the AI drive-thru tech is still in its early days.
Consumers think twice about buying fast food when prices rise: Traffic has fallen at major QSR chains since California’s 25% minimum wage increase took effect in April.
Starbucks launches breakfast deal to bring in value-minded customers: The coffee company is leaning on a number of ventures—including a new production studio—to restore growth.
More than half of restaurants plan to increase their use of AI over the next year: But the difficulty of getting worker and customer buy-in, as well as the challenge of finding the right solution, could slow adoption.
Inflation drove consumers to buy more store brands: But as sales remain strong, retailers look to premium private label items to foster loyalty.
Fast-food chains hope value meals hook customers: While Jack in the Box, McDonald’s, and Burger King turn to promotions amid sluggish demand, consumers keep splurging on pricier options like Cava.
US consumers keep spending: Better-than-expected results from Abercrombie, Dick’s Sporting Goods, and Cava demonstrate that shoppers are willing to splurge on some nice-to-have items.
Starbucks’ staffing issues lead to worker and customer dissatisfaction: Chronic understaffing is increasing wait times and hurting sales, while giving the union more room to extract concessions.
Restaurants ramp up hiring in preparation for a busy summer season: But operators face an uphill battle to win over value-conscious customers.
Red Lobster files for bankruptcy after disastrous Endless Shrimp promotion: The company is closing restaurants and pulling back on promotions as it tries to turn its business around.
How are consumers adapting to digital dining tools designed to make ordering and delivery more convenient? Are they embracing restaurant apps, delivery platforms, and digital ordering kiosks?
McDonald’s embraces “grandmacore”: The company’s limited-time “Grandma McFlurry” aims to recapture the success of last summer’s Grimace shake.
When it comes to retail spaces, smaller is better: More than two-thirds of the executed leases in the retail sector in Q1 were less than 2,500 square feet.
41% of US restaurant operators are planning to use AI for sales forecasting and scheduling, while 33% are using the tech for personalized marketing, according to December 2023 data from Restaurant365.
“The restaurant industry is still reeling from the impact of the pandemic,” our content director Becky Schilling said on an episode of “Behind the Numbers: Reimagining Retail” podcast. On top of that, inflation and economic uncertainty has made for a tough four years. In face of these persisting challenges, restaurants are turning to AI and unified commerce solutions to improve the customer experience, build loyalty, and supercharge personalization.