Marketing & Promotions

The Hottest Restaurant & Consumer Dining Trends in 2024

5 min read

Aug 6, 2024

How to Build and Grow a Restaurant Referral Program

Consumer expectations are always evolving. For restaurant operators, keeping your finger on the pulse of what’s happening in your market is a major competitive advantage. But running a business and keeping up with the latest trends can be challenging. 

To support hospitality teams, we gathered insights from 750+ global operators and 3,000+ consumers across the United States, United Kingdom and Australia, and looked at SevenRooms product analytics to uncover the biggest themes in consumer dining habits, marketing, AI and automation.  

Here’s what we found, along with key takeaways and tips to jump on the hottest global restaurant trends in 2024.  

Over the past several years, consumers across the U.S., U.K. and Australia have been adapting to major cultural shifts — they’re dealing with inflation pressure, the ongoing return to the office, flexible and hybrid work and more. 

But despite a period of more conservative discretionary spending, people are now setting aside money for leisure activities and seeking out third places they can enjoy outside of home and work.

When looking at what matters most to diners, the most prevalent themes were:

Younger consumers are into “restaurant culture” and love to dine out regularly.
People crave more engaging dining experiences.
Mondays are one of the most popular days for reservations.
Personalization goes a long way in bringing diners back.
Loyalty programs are popular, when they’re customized to the individual and provide value.
Consumers enjoy upgrades and experiences they can pre-book, like special tables or champagne pours upon arrival.

1. Younger consumers are dining out more frequently

Among the general populations, consumers most often go to restaurants about three times per month. But younger diners tend to go out more often.

In the U.S., 38% of Millennials and 24% of Gen Zers dine out more than 5X per month, along with 26% of Australian Gen Zers and 15% of U.K. Gen Zers.

Young people have made restaurants part of their weekly routine and actively look for new places to explore on social media, following accounts like @whenwherewhataustin, @_weekendedition and @londoncoffeeshops and checking out places they see on their explore page. 

2. Consumers are willing to pay more for elevated dining experiences

In the U.K., consumers are willing to spend up to £50 per person for a meal out, in the U.S., they’ll spend up to $63 per person, and in Australia, it’s as much as $97. But diners are willing to spend even more for elevated dining experiences like champagne pours or personalized menus. 

In some of the major cities across the U.S, U.K. and Australia, here’s what diners are willing to pay above market price for:

New York: 48% of consumers said high-end items like caviar.
Chicago: 55% of consumers said mocktails or personalized items.
Sydney: 49% of consumers said high-end items like caviar.
Melbourne: 50% of consumers said personalized items.
London: 38% of consumers said high-end items like caviar.
Manchester: 60% of consumers said a beverage upon arrival.

Around the world, employees are back to working in the office, and with the increase in remote and flexible work, their schedules are changing.

According to our research, Mondays are one of the most popular days people book restaurant reservations across regions, and globally, searches for “restaurants open on Monday near me” are up 40% year over year.

4. More than half of diners make reservations day-of

In response to difficulties getting reservations, diners have figured out that same-day bookings are a good option to get a table if they haven’t made plans far in advance. The most popular day to book a restaurant reservation is day-of, with 53% of diners in Australia, 57% in the U.K. and 66% in the United States booking same-day.

Guests are flexible when it comes to when they dine out, and will make changes to prioritize reservations with their favorite restaurant brands. If diners can’t get a reservation, here are the top two actions they take in each region:

United Kingdom 

35% look for another date and time.
29% look for availability at restaurants within the same hospitality group.

United States

39% look for availability at restaurants within the same hospitality group.
27% check other sites for the same restaurant.

Australia

33% look for another date and time.
29% look for availability at restaurants within the same hospitality group.

5. Diners are influenced to return to restaurants by atmosphere and ambiance, and other demographic-specific factors

Consumers want to find ‘third places’ that resonate with them, and that match their vibe and personality. 

For example, a female diner from NYC who goes out three or more times per week shared that “it’s trust and consistently great food” that bring her back to her favorite restaurants. “The atmosphere is very important… the ambiance, decor, design…” 

In comparison, here’s what a male diner from NYC who goes out at least twice a week said, "It’s usually a restaurant group and chef that I know and have a relationship with because they treat me like a VIP and I'm in their database and I get a reservation anytime."

By generation, here’s what encourages diners to return to restaurants:

United Kingdom

Gen Z: 21% are looking for the rapport they develop with front of house team members.
Millennials: 59% care about the atmosphere and ambiance.
Gen X: 27% are influenced by the ease of making a reservation.
Baby Boomers: 25% are influenced by the ease of making a reservation.

United States

Gen Z: 34% want personalized surprises like free desserts for birthdays.
Millennials: 26% care about the ease of making a reservation.
Gen X: 24% are looking for the rapport they develop with front of house team members.
Baby Boomers: 31% are interested in returning to restaurants that are available for walk-ins.

Australia

Gen Z: 37% consider the ease of walking in and getting a spot.
Millennials: 52% care about atmosphere and ambiance.
Gen X: 27% are influenced by the ease of making a reservation.
Baby Boomers: 25% are influenced by the ease of making a reservation.

6. Guests are interested in personalized loyalty program benefits

Guests are looking for loyalty incentives, but they don’t want one-size-fits-all programs. About 75% of surveyed operators across regions have loyalty programs, and different age groups and types of diners are interested in different perks. 

72% of Gen Zers in the United States and 59% in the U.K. for example, care most about free menu items, whereas 30% of Millennials in the U.S. seek out VIP access to specialty dining areas. In the U.K. 26% of Gen Xers care about exclusive events and experiences, and in Australia, they’re looking for access to last-minute reservations. 58% of Baby Boomers in Australia are influenced by discounts. 

The food and beverage industries across regions are at the start of a surge in growth. 

The National Restaurant Association predicts $1T in foodservice sales in the United States in 2024. In Australia, the foodservice market size is projected to reach AUD $150B by 2029, and in the U.K., the restaurant market is set to hit £19.5B by 2026.

We’re already seeing these trends among our customers. Reservations are up across regions from Q1 2023 to Q1 2024:

21% in the United States
21% in the United Kingdom
26% in Australia

Despite a promising year ahead, operators are dealing with challenges like staff retention and rising operational costs. But, advancements in digital marketing and technology like AI and automation are changing the game for savvy restaurateurs in nearly every aspect of their businesses. 

7. Experiential dining and upgrades drive 35%+ more revenue than traditional reservations

Our platform data showed that reservations with prepayments spend >35% more than those without pre-bookings. Guests are excited about upgrades and add-ons like seafood dinners, brunch buffets, endless pour packages and holiday feasts.

In 2023, SevenRooms operators’ upgrades and experiences sold like hotcakes across the globe, and Australia’s numbers more than doubled the other regions in revenue. 

Australia

1.5M+ upgrades and experiences sold
$22M+ revenue generated from upgrades
$34K+ average revenue per venue from upgrades

United Kingdom

630K+ upgrades and experiences sold
£6M+ revenue generated from upgrades
£21K+ average revenue per venue from upgrades

United States

660K+ upgrades and experiences sold
$33M+ revenue generated from upgrades
$85K+ average revenue per venue from upgrades

See which experiences and upgrades were the most popular in your region by checking out the full report.

8. Restaurant operators are spending most of their budget on social media — a top source of traffic to their business

Around 80% of restaurant operators we surveyed (globally) spend the majority of their marketing budget on social media, and in the United States and Australia 39% and 36% respectively say that organic posts are the most effective in driving bookings. In the U.K., though, 42% say that influencer posts work better. 

For consumers, every generation finds new restaurants on social media, in their own unique ways. Gen Zers and Millennials are more likely to be influenced by posts suggested by the algorithm or feed posts that highlight restaurants’ personalities, but Gen Xers and Baby Boomers are inspired by posts that show off food and drinks. 

Due to the growing interest in social media discovery, restaurant operators are going all in on this channel, where they can visually show off their personality and meals, drinks and ambiance like how Next Door Eastie shares their gorgeous cocktails

9. Targeted email and text marketing campaigns are bringing in new and repeat customers

When we asked how diners prefer to receive restaurant promotions and communications, email and text were more popular than other marketing channels. 

With an average open rate of 98%, text marketing is helping restaurants reach their customers with great success. This channel is also most popular among younger audiences. In the U.S., 41% of Gen Zers prefer text followed by 37% in Australia and 21% in the U.K

Find out how our customer Fabio Viviani generated $220K in revenue from text marketing in four months.

Across regions, Millennials, Gen Xers and Baby Boomers are more partial to email — but personalization is key. Our customers see 23% higher open rates, 28% higher click-to-open rates and 2X more revenue per email when sending targeted messages, compared to those who send emails to their entire list. 

10. Two-thirds of global restaurant operators are already using artificial intelligence (AI) to run their businesses

Restaurant owners are embracing artificial intelligence (AI) and automation as a way to improve the guest experience and run their businesses more efficiently. 

Australia is leading the way, with 85% of operators using AI, followed by 70% in the United States and 66% in the United Kingdom. 

In the United States and Australia, the most popular ways to use AI are inventory management and data analysis, and in the U.K., they’re more likely to use AI to create marketing collateral and schedule staff, hire and train.

11. The #1 way restaurateurs want to use automation is for customer service and communications.

Automation, like AI, is also helping restaurants punch above their weight class. Around 30% of global restaurant operators are interested in using automation in customer service, communication, inventory management and staff training

And for those already using it, automated email campaigns are generating revenue and improving customer relationships.  

Learn how Mulberry Group drove AUD $500K from automated email in a single year.

Discover more restaurant industry statistics and insights in the full reports

Explore more restaurant and consumer trends, data and examples in the new Restaurant Trends and Diner Expectations reports from SevenRooms.

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