Customer Perception of Pricing is Hurting Quick Service Restaurants

The restaurant industry has evolved and managed rapid changes over the past few years. To keep up to date today, there are two words that QSR owners and operators need to know: Trading Down.

“The consumer perception of pricing is changing rapidly,” said Barbara Castiglia, of Modern Restaurant Management.

In April 2022, Revenue Management Solutions published insights into the quick-service industry trends, citing that roughly 68% of consumers felt restaurant prices were higher, 40% felt they were getting less value, and 82% said higher pricing is the main reason for that absence of value.

Castiglia couldn’t agree more, “We are at an inflationary tipping point,” she said, noting that the RMS insight reported an 8.5% decline in QSR traffic in March of this year compared to a year prior, “While the average check grew during the pandemic…the quantity per transaction is down 3.1%.”

So while checks are increasing, traffic is not, “Damage is starting and they’re starting to see this ‘trading down’ behavior,” said Castiglia.

To prevent consumers from trading out or stopping their restaurant visits altogether, Castiglia advised, “You have to make sure that the experience that they’re getting there is just amazing. That they’re provided with everything that they need…That they’re treated well while they’re there.”

Secondly, “you have to involve price,” she said. Utilizing an item-level strategy is one way you can increase cost slowly over a longer period of time

Restaurants also need to look at add-ons, “Look to see if they’re not coming up in the orders as much,” said Castiglia, and potentially add “value-bundles” to encourage customers that they are, in fact, getting more value out of the experience.

While “price is paramount right now” Castiglia noted that consumers want to go out and eat and have these experiences, but to keep them coming, restaurants must address their concerns.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Image

Latest

student success
The AI-Powered Edge in Education: How LearningClues Is Enabling Student Success with Co-founder and CEO Dr. Perry Samson
June 30, 2025

As AI continues to reshape education, institutions face a growing challenge in ensuring students succeed without compromising engagement or integrity. Today’s college students are often juggling jobs, family, and coursework, leading to limited study time and increased dropout risk. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 40% of full-time undergraduates and 74% of…

Read More
AI Strategist
Why Enterprises Need an AI Strategist and Why It Should Be a Marketer
June 30, 2025

In this episode of The Marketing AI SparkCast, Aby Varma, founder of Spark Novus, a leading consultancy that partners with marketing leaders to adopt and scale AI responsibly and strategically, talks with Nicola Smith, Senior AI Programs Advisor at Southwest Airlines. They explore how enterprises can move beyond tool experimentation to embed AI into…

Read More
first 90 days
HealthSearch Partners’ Neill Marshall and Kurt Mosley Urge New CEOs to Listen First, Diagnose Early, and Lead with Purpose in the First 90 Days
June 30, 2025

CEO turnover across U.S. hospitals is accelerating. Hospitals and health systems announced 146 CEO changes in 2023—a 42 percent increase over the 103 exits recorded in 2022, according to a Challenger, Gray & Christmas report. As more leaders transition into new roles, the importance of making a good first impression has intensified. The early…

Read More
tech talent
The DisruptED World of Tech Talent with TEKsystems: Future-Proofing the Workforce Through Inclusive Hiring and Non-Traditional Education
June 27, 2025

In a workforce reshaped by automation, accelerated AI adoption, and persistent labor shortages, the demand for skilled tech talent has never been more urgent—or more difficult to meet. The traditional pipelines, namely college degrees and four-year institutions, are no longer producing enough candidates to meet the explosive growth in tech roles. With tech jobs…

Read More