No one is craving a return to old habits as much as your local restaurant owner. And the easing of pandemic restrictions along with the arrival of warmer weather may be setting the stage for just that.

Waze – which has more than 140 million monthly app users – saw year-over-year user navigations to quick-serve and sit-down casual restaurants rise 13% in the first quarter of 2022. [1] Specifically, Waze navigations data shows a 17.8% rise in drives to sit-down casual restaurants, indicating an increased "appetite" for dining out again. [2]

As this in-person dining activity picks up, restaurants should keep these trends in mind when planning to draw in customers.

The new commute

Patterns behind "the new commute" are starting to emerge, which means restaurants can better prepare to deliver expedient experiences. For instance, Waze navigation data shows the percentage of users mapping to quick-serve and sit-down casual restaurants progressively increased throughout the workweek in March 2022, whereas those navigations dipped on Thursdays in March 2021. [3,4]  Restaurants can use this information to plan optimizations and message drivers to capture demand accordingly.

As hybrid return to office picks up steam, Waze data also shows a 6.1% increase in navigations to coffee shops and a 3.8% boost in navigations to bakeries, suggesting more drivers are fueling up on the go. [5,6]

The good news is these behavioral changes are turning into higher receipt totals. Pent-up demand for in-person experiences drove on-premise dining revenue growth during the fourth quarter of 2021, with sales increasing 70% year over year. [7]

Revenue projections are equally optimistic, with a National Restaurant Association survey estimating restaurant and foodservice sales will hit nearly $900 billion this year, up from approximately $800 billion in 2021. [8] And a recent report showed fast food industry watchers are projecting significant near-term growth in the form of a 32.7% increase in gross receipts between 2022 and 2027. [9]

Driving demand for drive-thru

More on-premise dining doesn’t mean table service is the only choice.

Demand for drive-thrus remains strong, with 37% of respondents to a recent survey saying it’s their preferred method for ordering. [10] Another survey of restaurant goers found 76% of respondents visited a drive-thru once a week, compared to 63% saying they sat down once a week at a restaurant for a meal. [11] This shows convenience is king for diners, as drive-thrus continue to allow customers to receive expedient service without ever leaving the car while also avoiding delivery app fees.

The prominence of drive-thrus has led to a surge of new options at quick-serve and sit-down casual restaurants, from the expansion of "Chipotlanes" for digital order pickup at Chipotle, to a drive-in pilot in Ohio for Sweetgreen and the first of 11 planned drive-thrus for Shake Shack. [12,13,14]

"Restaurants have been impressively resilient at reaching diners via new channels that have allowed them to meet increased customer preferences for safety and convenience," says Mike Wilson, Head of Restaurant Industry at Waze. "By using Waze options like Location Personality Badges, they have been able to build new loyalties and attract customers by alerting on-the-go drivers to these offerings."

Here's how marketers can adapt in 2022

All the innovation in the world won't move the needle if diners aren't aware of your brand's efforts.

As brands double down on capacity and reconfigure systems, they should actively promote advances in convenience, value and connection. Demonstrating the differentiation – and how those new wrinkles make life better for the consumer – can bolster the bottom line.

"Waze solutions have proven remarkably effective in alerting drivers to drive-thru and take out options, along with limited-edition menu items and special pricing," Wilson said. "Using a Waze solution like a Takeover is an ideal way to alert consumers to these offerings as they are out and about and is another opportunity to convert a customer who is eager to bring home a convenient and creative dining option for their family."

Search Waze data, learn more about category trends and see how Waze can support your revenue goals at waze.com/ads.

SOURCES

[1] "Category Trends." Waze, Jan. 1, 2022-March 31, 2022. URL, 2022.  Accessed 5 April 2022.

[2] "Category Trends." Waze, Jan. 1, 2022-March 31, 2022. URL, 2022.  Accessed 5 April 2022.

[3] "Category Trends." Waze, March 1-31, 2022. URL, 2022. Accessed 5 April 2022.

[4] "Category Trends." Waze, March 1-31, 2022. URL, 2022. Accessed 5 April 2022.

[5] "Category Trends." Waze, Jan. 1, 2022-March 31, 2022. URL, 2022.  Accessed 5 April 2022.

[6] "Category Trends." Waze, Jan. 1, 2022-March 31, 2022. URL, 2022.  Accessed 5 April 2022.

[7] "Toast: Full-service sales grew 55% in Q4 2021 versus Q4 2020." Restaurant Dive, 25 February 2022, URL. Accessed 15 March 2022.

[8] "State of the Restaurant Industry 2022." National Restaurant Association, URL. Accessed 15 March 2022.

[9] "Global $308B Fast Food and QSRs Industry 2022-2027 - Analytics by Company, Business Model, Cuisine, Product, Service, and Region." Research and Markets, Accessed April 5, 2022. URL. 2022

[10] "Deloitte: The Restaurant of the Future Should Evolve to Serve Consumers in New Ways." Deloitte.com, 8 December 2021, URL. Accessed 15 March 2022.

[11] "Where Does the Restaurant Industry Go From Here?" QSR, 21 March 2022. URL Accessed 13 April 2022

[12] "Chipotle increases unit growth target to 7,000 across North America." National Restaurant News, 8 February 2022, URL. Accessed 15 March 2022.

[13] "Sweetgreen will pilot a drive-in restaurant as part of suburban push." CNBC, 16 December 2020, URL. Accessed 15 March 2022.

[14] "Shake Shack to open first drive-thru location." Restaurant Dive, 1 December 2021. URL. Accessed 15 March 2022.