Burger chains are the most popular Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) options for customers, according to the second round of results from Empathica’s 2013 Quick Service Restaurant Benchmark Study.
The study surveyed 10,000 U.S. consumers on the 62 top QSR brands, measuring food, order accuracy, speed of service, menu, restaurant atmosphere and cleanliness, staff, and value. These results determined QSR category rankings, as well as the drivers behind customer loyalty for each genre of quick service restaurant.
Based on the number of customer visits to the top 62 QSR brands reported in the past 30 days, the study ranked QSRs by category. Rankings by the number of visits do not reflect customer satisfaction. What’s more, while burger chains attracted the highest number of visitors – likely due to the high number of burger chain locations that exist – the burger category lacked in key customer satisfaction areas.
Among the most visited QSR categories, burger chains came out on top at 60%, followed by sandwich (41%), pizza/pasta (33%), chicken (33%), snack/coffee (26%), Mexican (24%), and Asian/seafood (12%).
Overall, customers were most satisfied with (in descending order), sandwich (52%), snack/coffee (51%), Mexican (49%), chicken (48%), pizza/pasta (48%), Asian/seafood (43%), and burger (42%).
Sandwich chain visitors were most satisfied after their experiences (52%), and were most likely to recommend the establishment to a friend or family member (45% strongly agreed that they would recommend these establishments).
“Overall satisfaction and the likelihood of a recommendation are key to customer loyalty, which is also the key to long-term QSR success,” Dr. Gary Edwards, chief customer officer, Empathica, said in a press release. “It is great to get a customer to visit your restaurant, but the ultimate goal should be to provide that customer with a satisfying experience that motivates him or her – and his or her friends – to keep coming back through your doors.”
Both genders and all income levels cited burger chains as the top QSR visited in the past 30 days -- males (62%) made more visits than females (58%) and individuals with lower incomes (63%) made more visits than those with higher incomes (59%). Women, however, have a stronger preference for pizza/pasta and snack/coffee than men do. To close this gender gap, burger chains specifically should strengthen their marketing and advertising toward women, the study found.
The study revealed a significant age difference regarding preference for pizza and pasta restaurants. While 42% of 18-24-year-olds visited pizza and pasta QSRs in the past 30 days, only 28% of 55-64-year-olds reported a visit. According to the study, visits to pizza/pasta establishments become less frequent as age increases. This gap shows which markets pizza and pasta restaurants should target for customer loyalty, as well as what groups could use a push from marketing and advertising efforts.
“Different age groups prefer certain establishments, and knowing which markets are most and least likely to visit your QSR is valuable information for a restaurant,” Edwards added. “There are specific groups that a restaurant can rely on to drive traffic to their restaurant, and there are other groups that could be strategically targeted to maximize guest reach. Overall, the results from this QSR Benchmark show strong consumer patterns that provide insight into the performance of quick service restaurants. If taken advantage of, these insights can be used to improve the customer experience and the success of QSRs across the United States.”