A new consumer dining survey from HungerRush™ revealed customer sentiment regarding surge—or dynamic— pricing in U.S. restaurants. With increased operational, supply, and labor costs, some restaurants are considering increasing menu prices based on the time of day and guest traffic. HungerRush’s survey highlighted that 64% of restaurant diners would not be in support of the pricing strategy, with a notable 81% indicating they wouldn’t patronize the restaurant at all moving forward, or at the very least, they wouldn’t dine when the restaurant was in “surge pricing” mode.
The survey also revealed:
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If restaurants are locally-owned or part of a small chain of restaurants, 48% of diners are more forgiving when it comes to surge or dynamic pricing.
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Extra fees are not the way to a diner’s stomach. While 63% will cover a small fee to help offset rising operational costs, 21% indicated the fee must be under 3% of the cost of their visit.
“While raising prices may seem like a straightforward solution, it can negatively impact consumer loyalty. We’ve witnessed backlash against surge pricing models in the past, demonstrating the importance of preserving customer experience and loyalty. Our data highlights the critical role of customer satisfaction in a restaurant’s profitability. Instead of solely relying on price hikes, we recommend leveraging technology and optimizing workforce planning to enhance operational efficiency and minimize expenses,” said Bill Mitchell, Executive Chairman of HungerRush and former President of Global Operations of Papa John’s International.
The survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers aged 18+ years was conducted in March 2024 by first-party data company Dynata.
Learn more about HungerRush’s products: https://www.hungerrush.com/products/loyalty/
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