LongHorn Steakhouse and Texas Roadhouse take victory among restaurants, while Chick-fil-A leads fast food for 10th consecutive year, ACSI data shows
ANN ARBOR, Michigan, June 25, 2024–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Restaurants may be having their best year yet, but inflation is making dining decisions a lot more complicated.
Although customer satisfaction with fast-food restaurants is up 1% to a score of 79 (out of 100) and 4% to 84 for full-service restaurants, according to the U.S. Restaurant Index, customer satisfaction (ACSI).®) 2024 Restaurant and Food Delivery Study, Households Earning Less than $75,000 a Year Reduce Their Restaurant Visits Due to Rising Prices.
“Customers of full-service and fast-food restaurants are skewing somewhat more toward higher income levels and college graduates,” says Forrest Morgeson, associate professor of marketing at Michigan State University and director of research emeritus at the ACSI. “Customers are forced to make decisions between groceries and restaurants, with full-service restaurant inflation about twice that of groceries over the past year and fast food prices and fast casual restaurants up to three times higher than those of groceries Customers seem to view restaurants as a luxury, restaurants that can differentiate themselves in terms of quality and value will have a competitive advantage.
“Congratulations” to LongHorn Steakhouse and Texas Roadhouse, the new restaurant champions
ACSI results once again show consumer preferences for steak, as LongHorn Steakhouse and Texas Roadhouse both climb 4% to 85, tying for first among full-service restaurants (and restaurants as a whole).
The former demonstrates its commitment to customer satisfaction by bucking the “shrinkage” trend and providing better value for money to the customer, while striving to maintain a culture dedicated to quality. Meanwhile, despite inflation, Texas Roadhouse is keen to keep prices low and invest heavily in staff.
Olive Garden is next among the major chains, up 4% to 83. Chili’s also improves 4% to 80. The chain benefits from a combination of high perceived value thanks to its “3 for Me” menu and the strength of the service thanks to employee loyalty.
Last year’s category leader, Outback Steakhouse, is down 4% to 80. Outback appears to be facing a slowdown in spending by lower-income consumers, consistent with ACSI’s findings regarding the price sensitivity of their clients. Meanwhile, IHOP climbs 8% to 78. Customers respond favorably to menu changes offering more variety.
Denny’s and Red Robin share last place, each losing 1% to 76.
Customers report better performance in most aspects of the full-service restaurant experience – led by accuracy of food orders (92) and courtesy and helpfulness of servers (90) – appreciating restaurants’ efforts to satisfy customers despite inflation. Delivering an exceptional customer experience will be even more crucial for consumers who feel pressure to reduce discretionary spending.
Chick-fil-A still rules fast food
Chick-fil-A falls 2% to an ACSI score of 83, but remains in the lead among individual fast food chains for the tenth year in a row. This long-term success is reflected in revenue, as the chain’s non-mall locations generated an average of $9.4 million in revenue in 2023 (more than double that of McDonald’s while being open on a day of less per week).
KFC finished second with 81 (unchanged), appearing to retain very loyal customers as its competitors reduce its domestic market share. There’s a four-way tie for third place at 80 between ACSI newcomer Culver’s, Panera Bread (up 5%), Arby’s (up 4%) and Starbucks (up 3%). . Culver’s continues to open locations at a steady pace while also increasing its revenue per location.
Although far behind the leaders, Sonic is making the biggest leap in the industry, rising 6% to an ACSI score of 76, as is Wendy’s, up 3%.
After falling 1% and 3%, respectively, Jack in the Box and Popeyes plummet downward to 72. Meanwhile, McDonald’s remains in last place even after improving 3% to reach an ACSI score of 71.
Order accuracy (86), mobile quality (86), and mobile reliability (85) receive high scores because improving technology can increase accuracy in fulfilling customer orders. In fact, the mobile quality of fast-food restaurants exceeds that of full-service chains. Fast food restaurants also receive high standards for staff courtesy and food and drink quality (84 total), although fast food chains outperform fast food on these measures.
Food delivery debuts with less than stellar results
The food delivery industry debuts in the ACSI with a score of 73, significantly lower than full-service restaurants and fast food restaurants.
The group of small food delivery services outperforms its main competitors with a score of 79. Uber Eats, at 74, edges out other reported brands, DoorDash (73) and Grubhub (71).
Customers give the highest ratings to mobile apps (82) and websites (81) used to place orders. The cost of food delivery is a concern in terms of fairness of food prices (69) and pre-tipping taxes and service charges (69).
The 2024 ACSI Restaurant and Food Delivery Study is based on 14,604 completed surveys. Customers were randomly selected and contacted by email between April 2023 and March 2024 for the catering sectors and between November 2023 and March 2024 for food delivery. Download the study and follow ACSI on LinkedIn and @theACSI.
No advertising or other promotional use may be made of the data and information contained in this release without the express prior written consent of ACSI LLC.
About ACSI
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI®) has been a national economic indicator for over 25 years. It measures and analyzes customer satisfaction for approximately 400 companies in approximately 40 industries and 10 economic sectors, including various departments of federal and local government agencies. Reported on a scale of 0 to 100, scores are based on data from approximately 200,000 responses per year. For more information, visit www.theacsi.org.
ACSI and its logo are registered trademarks of American Customer Satisfaction Index LLC.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240625206353/en/
Contacts
Denise DiMeglio 610-228-2102
denise@gregoryfca.com
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