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'Let's do lunch': Pullin' in midday customers when they're pulling back on spending

Slow restaurants sales are one of the contributors to overall less-than-anticipated retail sales activity in September, but that doesn't have to affect your lunch business. Follow these four tips to breathe new life and revenue into the noon-time meal.

October 24, 2018 by Ray Reddy — CEO and Co-Founder, Ritual

Slow sales at restaurants were among the reasons the Commerce Department gave most recently for an equally slow start to the fall months in the U.S. retail industry. For instance, the Washington Post reports that despite predictions that U.S. consumers would spend 0.7 percent more in September, that number came in instead at 0.1. Rising interest rates, hurricanes and the public's overall shaky confidence in the overall state of the nation and world has caused many to pull in the purse strings. 

One of the first places many cut back, of course, is lunch at work, making restaurateurs' work at lunch even tougher than it's always been. But QSR operators are a savvy bunch and have plenty of tantalizing tricks up their sleeves to prompt the lunch crowd to leave that brown bag in the desk drawer and head for something quick and delicious. 

Here then are some top tips on proven ways restaurants can "rebrand" the lunch hour and turn it into a revenue driver, even when there's less "revenue" going around. 

Heed the 'Great Pumpkin'

Sometimes vilified as "basic" or "gimmicky," there is a reason all those glorious pumpkin-laden lattes come earlier each year now 15 years after they first splashed onto the restaurant scene. Simply put, they are endearing symbols of how a fan favorite can be integrated into countless QSR offerings to generate restaurant profit. 

Today, all those digital menus are running over with everything from pumpkin spice cookies and bread, to chai and coffee of every squash-filled variety. In fact, pumpkin spice lattes have made September the fourth most successful month of the year for the coffee-based fast casual brand, Starbucks. 

But the lesson here is plain: Seasonal offerings sell. That's why items like strawberry mint lemonade and peppermint mochas have also seen great success for QSR operators. So, why not reflect on your menu and design an item that your regulars can look forward to during certain months or even times of day. Whether that be a squash-filled salad or apple pie milkshake, create a crave-worthy LTO for which your customers are willing to break the budget a little at lunch. 

Plant some health on the menu

As more and more consumers switch wholly or in part to plant-based eating and even larger numbers of people turn to foods that are better for overall health, it's little surprise that a recent Ritual survey found that salads, grain bowls, poke bowls and sushi were top lunch performers. 

In fact, it's become so popular that many restaurants are denoting their healthier and/or plant-based options on their menus, quite often showing the positive results in increased sales of those items. 

Turn 'Prime Day' into prime (lunch)time

Amazon annual Prime Day has become something of a holiday for consumers worldwide, so why not maneuver your QSR to get some of that action? Consider scheduling a day or week of special promotions, offered annually to "prime' your audience for the online shop-a-thon. Even consider partnering with other restaurants to create your own miniature food festival, or offer in-person experiences like a sampling event or fund drive in-restaurant. 

I've personally seen brands that can increase traffic as much as 77 percent through these kinds of events over the same period in previous years. Likewise, of those newly acquired customers, many brands saw as many as 33 percent of new customers generated during such events revisiting, with 43 percent of those individuals continuing to frequent that brand 60 days after the promotion. 

Grow lunch connections 'In Real Life'

You can also build your restaurant's reputation and generate interest through in-real-life (IRL) activations from out-of-home campaigns, pop-ups and strategic use of high-traffic area street teams. For example, apply some of the findings you have from existing customer data to inform your IRL outreach efforts. 

So, if many of your customers work in the same building, create a monthly pop-up in their lobby. Or, if you have several franchise restaurants concentrated near a subway station stop, fill that area with ads and lunch discount offers for your brand. After all, the best way to build in-person connections is through in-person experiences.

Aside from the four aforementioned ideas for generating lunchtime crowds and sales, also make sure to think about your restaurant's leading revenue drivers for ways they can sustain you through leaner times of day and months of the year. By thinking ahead, you put your brand ahead of the ultra-competitive QSR lunch pack. 
 

Photo: iStock

About Ray Reddy

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Ray Reddy is a repeat entrepreneur and now the CEO & Co-Founder of Ritual- an order ahead app connecting local restaurants with customers and data analytics to help them compete in the digital restaurant age.On the platform, restaurants have seen 3-4x growth in repeat customer visits & size orders due to speed, convenience, social features and a clear pricing structure.

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