The Consumer Shift to Casual Dining Makes Sense

To me, it's just common sense that many consumers appear to be trending towards more casual dining options and ditching fast food. A trend that has many facets to it, I think. Beyond the ballooning prices at fast food places, fast food was also trending to be something it's not.

A dining experience.

Granted, that's been something fast food has been doing for quite some time now. But now it just makes less sense as a business strategy. Fast food is supposed to be, well...fast. But now when you order it takes more time to get your food.

It used to be that you'd place your order and walk away from the counter with a tray. Now you tend to get an order slip, or in the case of some fast food restaurants, you get a placard to be served at your table. It's also way more common to be directed out of the drive through lanes to a parking spot to wait for something.

Sorry folks, but that's not what fast food was ever supposed to be. 

Of course, they say they are aiming for better quality. If your order is made to order it will be hotter and fresher. But I have to tell you, for me, that's rarely true. I find the quality of the made to order food no better than how it was before. In fact, the faster food was actually better.

Let's face it. The chains did it to save money too. Ideally, if you miscalculate the burger drop on the grill, you might wind up throwing away more food. 

What people are doing now is weighing the differences. If the food costs as much as a sit down restaurant, and at the same time they'll wait about the same time for their food, why bother with fast food? 

My wife and I have marveled at the exorbitant prices of fast food lately. Not that we eat it that often. But there are periods when we tend to eat more of it—such as when we are coming back from camping trips or have more things going on during the summer that leave fewer dinner or lunch options.

We recently went to A&W and bought a double bacon cheeseburger, some hand-tossed chicken fingers and an order of fried cheese curds. That cost us around $32. On another trip, with just two Quarter Pounders and two large orders of fries, that ran about $24. And when we went to Hardees, we dropped about $28 on some onion rings, a chicken sandwich and a mushroom and Swiss burger.

We did not order drinks with any of these meals.

From purely an economic standpoint, we could have gone to Applebee's or Chili's or some other place and spent about the same amount, and probably would have spent about the same amount of time with presumably tastier menu options. 

And that's what consumers are doing. They are considering, "If I have to wait about the same time for my order and even if maybe I drop another $10, it's worth it."

The fact is that fast food was always the cheaper option. In fact, it was usually much cheaper. Quicker and cheaper. Those factors no longer exist. So therefore, consumers are shifting because they want a bigger bang for their buck, and fast food simply isn't offering that anymore.

Imagine the cost to a family of four making a simple, quick trip to McDonald's. That might cost over $100 easily. Why not go to a sit down restaurant instead? 

At the same time, I don't blame the fast food chains for some of the price increases. They are dealing with inflation just like everyone else is. On top of that, there's been a long and strong push to raise wages for employees, and as the old saying goes, money doesn't grow on trees. It has to come from somewhere, and where it is coming from are consumer's pockets.

What will be critical now for fast food chains is to become very creative in their approach. The consumer shift may be something that is long lasting, and if fast food wants their customers back, they are going to really have to dig in hard on what they can do to get them back.

One thing, in the short term, I think they will need to do, is going back to at least being fast food. Before, they were never really in direct competition with casual dining. But now they are. If they want to succeed, they need to separate themselves again and not only offer good food fast, but in an economical way.

Like the way I write or the things I write about? Follow me on my Facebook page or on X to keep up with the latest writings wherever I may write them. Looking for some free cryptocurrency? Check out FreeBitcoin for a fun way to get some.

© 2024 Jim Bauer

What's In YOUR Egg McMuffin?

In many ways I find it wholly interesting that McDonald's is beginning to suffer a bit recently since, during the worst days of the economy, McDonald's stock actually held up fairly well. I even owned it through much of that period and I was never dissatisfied with the performance of the stock.

In the worst economic period since The Great Depression, people flocked to McDonald's stores for their coffees, burgers, and of course for their world famous French fries.

Lately McDonald's has come under a bit of fire with people questioning what is actually IN McDonald's menu items? Is it a health trend, or is it something more? Either way, McDonald's is making efforts to inform the public about their products, their processes, and even dispel some myths about what's actually in their food. Quite suitably they have turned to Grant Imahara, one of the former stars of the popular TV series Mythbusters to do some exploring, releasing videos and giving consumers an inside look at how McDonald's food eventually makes it over the counter and into your mouth.

The latest one is about their famous Egg McMuffin, with perfectly round shaped spats of eggs that fit perfectly onto each and every Egg McMuffin breakfast sandwich they serve. Truth is, ladies and gentlemen, while it turns out that their French fries contain about 19 chemicals and ingredients, their eggs are simply, well...eggs.

How do they get that round shape? Being one who has spent a little time in the kitchen, this one actually never seemed to be much of a mystery to me. Put an egg in a round form and cook it and voila! You get a perfectly round and uniform cooked egg. But many people had some different ideas about this, with some even suggesting that the eggs were actually cooked into a tube form and then sliced for the sandwiches.

I actually found this one quite comical.

I think McDonald's is doing the right thing by letting consumers know what goes into anything they eat at a McDonald's restaurant. As to the lackluster sales at McDonald's stores? Personally I do not think it has a thing to do with questions about McDonald's food, but rather it is simply a natural result of an improving economy. Remember that McDonald's did quite well during the recession. Part of that was due to its economical menu, such as the value menu items.

Any time an economy begins to show signs of improvement, one of the first things to change is where and how people decide to spend their money. In other words, people begin to treat themselves. That means people will begin to look for slightly higher end restaurants to eat at. Maybe they try a Wendy's, or even a place like a Jimmy John's. McDonald's simply happened to reap the benefits of being the go-to when consumers were feeling the pinch, and now that that pinch is easing a bit, people are simply going elsewhere.

I really think that's all there is to this.

McDonald's is not going anywhere, and quite frankly I do not see them coming even close to being unseated as one of the largest hamburger chains in the industry (although Subway takes the lead in quick serve overall). What they may be going through now is not outside of their history as a company. They have experienced little breaks in their company's performance in the past. Believe it or not there was a time when their Beanie Babies deal got them through a rough spell. After that coffee saved them. McDonald's will find their way back. It's simply what they do.

In the interim if consumers get to know a little bit more about what they eat when they visit a McDonald's restaurant, I am all for this. In fact, what I really want to know is how they make those Chicken McNuggets. If ever there was a mystery to solve, for me, it would be that one. Maybe Grant Imahara has something in the works on that one? Who knows. Either way, I think this is an interesting time to see how McDonald's reacts to consumer concerns over their food, and what new idea they will bring together to save their quick serve chain once again.