Report: Restaurants, foodservice operators ignore menu board sales opportunities

A report from food industry research firm Datassential shows that menu boards represent a significant, but sometimes overlooked, opportunity for restaurant and foodservice operators. While 63 percent of consumers say they read menu boards to learn about specials, 30 percent of operators don’t feature promotions on their menu boards, according to a Datassential's company announcement.

According to Datassential’s new Menu Board Keynote Report, consumers read menu boards to help them decide what to order, often focusing on what items are on special. They also check menu boards in choosing side items, beverages and desserts. One-third of the respondents said they ordered the cheapest item on the board because it was the easiest to find, while an equal number said that menu boards are placed too high, making them difficult to read, the announcement stated.

"Operators who don’t pay attention to their menu boards or fail to feature their specials or promotions are missing out on real sales opportunities," Datassential Managing Director Brian Darr said. "Another thing that operators may be underestimating is the appeal and impact of photos. Virtually all patrons thought photos were important, especially for promotions or LTOs."

The type of operation impacts whether a consumer looks at a menu board. For example, consumers are twice as likely to read a menu board at a fast casual restaurant every time they visit compared to a convenience store. Demographics also are a factor in menu-board engagement, with Millennials more likely to look frequently at menu board offerings, hoping to find a new favorite item.

The report also examined the prevalence of the various kinds of menu boards (static, full-color; handwritten; changeable white letters, black background; digital) across all types of restaurant and foodservice operations. Digital menu boards are being used by only 16 percent of operators, mostly in foodservice management, business and industry and colleges and university environments as well as high-volume traditional burger QSRs.

The Menu Board Keynote Report surveyed more than 1,500 consumers and 350 operators across all restaurant and foodservice types. The report details which categories are most often found on menu boards and which are less likely to be listed, the announcement stated.