Mar. 25, 2024 "Economic pressure has Canadians trimming restaurant outings: report": Today I found this article by BNN Bloomberg:
A new report suggests Canadians are eating out less often and instead opting for takeout, a move that suggests foodies are feeling the economic pinch.
The “2024 Canadian Diner Trends Report” from Toronto-based software firm TouchBistro
found 25 per cent of respondents reported eating out at least once a week,
down from 38 per cent in 2022, while their average stayed roughly the same.
“It’s likely that higher menu prices are causing overall spending to hold steady, even though Canadians are dining out less,” the report states.
Canadians also appear fonder of takeout as 31 per cent of respondents are eating takeout weekly, up from 25 per cent.
“The past year has seen significant changes in Canadian dining habits,” the report states.
“They’re now dining out less than they did a year ago and many are opting to order takeout more frequently instead – a shift in behaviour that suggests that the current economic situation is putting pressure on Canadians’ wallets and causing them to trim their restaurant budgets.”
Tech changes
When it comes to some of the new tech changes seen at restaurants, Canadians would prefer a return back to customs from a few years ago.
The survey found Canadians overwhelmingly prefer a human connection with their dining experience, with 85 per cent of respondents indicating they prefer a paper menu to a QR code or ordering kiosk.
“Our qualitative interviews revealed that they’re concerned with being forced to download an app
simply to view a restaurant’s menu,
accessibility issues due to screen sizes,
and a potentially complicated process to customize orders,” the report stated.
“While there is certainly a place for restaurant tech (especially when it comes to improving efficiency), the data suggests that an easy, seamless, and human-led customer service experience is still the expectation for today’s diners.”
Additionally, Canadians prefer to pay for their meal traditionally, with just nine per cent of respondents preferring a self-checkout payment method, compared to 76 per cent who prefer paying a server at their table.
TouchBistro recommends restaurants respond to the changing trends by changing policies to emphasize the human connection.
“Diners have made it clear they want to interact with restaurants and servers, rather than automated or third-party platforms,” the report states.
“This means restaurateurs have a direct line of communication with customers – one that can help them better understand and proactively meet the needs of discerning diners.
The operators that rise to the challenge will be the ones with success on the menu in 2024.”
Aug. 8, 2024 "How Tim Hortons and other fast-food chains are navigating the value meal wars": Today I found this article on CBC:
The owner of Canada's most recognizable fast-food chain managed to grow its profit in its most recent quarter, even as a pullback in consumer spending that's long been roiling retailers cropped up in the quick-serve market.
The chief executive of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (RBI) said his company's brands —
Tim Hortons,
Burger King,
Popeye's Louisiana Kitchen
and Firehouse Subs
— have been "navigating a softer consumer environment."
"There's no denying that the environment has been tough," Joshua Kobza told analysts on a Thursday earnings call.
That sentiment has proliferated the fast-food market in recent months with brands as big as McDonald's conceding the effects of high interest and mortgage rates would see it adopt a "street-fighting mentality to win," the company's chief financial officer Ian Borden said during an April 30 earnings call.
Last week, sales at McDonald's locations that have been open for at least one year fell for the first time since 2020.
RBI's brands — alongside McDonald's, Wendy's and other fast food chains — have been leaning on value messaging and offerings to boost sales during a summer of intense competition that media outlets have dubbed "the value meal wars."
Cheap burgers, $1 coffee
At Tim Hortons Canada, for example, the chain has been advertising $3 breakfast sandwiches with a coffee purchase — a deal Kobza said he'd taken advantage of Thursday morning.
Burger King has similarly been putting the spotlight on its $5 "Your Way" meals.
"I think we've been really disciplined in our everyday pricing, which has been paying really good dividends," Kobza said.
Rivals, however, have used similar tactics. In Canada,
Wendy's has been advertising two for $4 breakfast combos and
Starbucks has been offering 25 per cent off iced drinks on Fridays in the summer.
McDonald's, meanwhile, dropped its starting price for cups of coffee to $1 in Canada and over the summer offers ice cream cones for the same price.
Asked about its pricing strategy and rivals, Kobza said "Tim's is doing a great job outperforming the market, even in a difficult market."
"That's been the case for a while now," he continued, while noting inflation has softened in Canada but there's still higher unemployment compared with the U.S.
Tim Hortons, in particular, has been strong because it has long had a leading share of Canada's brewed coffee and breakfast sandwich market, executives on the call said.
The brand has spent the last year attempting to expand that hold even further. In recent months, it launched flatbread pizzas nationally and rolled out new wraps, bowls and sparkling fruit drinks in a bid to gobble up more afternoon and evening sales.
Despite recent successes with the expansion and in navigating headwinds, RBI executive chairman Patrick Doyle suggested the company isn't keen to rest on its laurels.
"We know [consumer] purchase habits are affected by a lot of macro factors,
and it's our job to adapt,
but clearly we have opportunities to position ourselves to perform even better in all environments and take share no matter the category conditions," he said.
"We need to continue to improve operations across the board. This is something we can never take for granted even at a brand like Tim's, which is already executing at a stunning level."
How RBI fared in the fast food wars
The company, which keeps its books in U.S. dollars, revealed Thursday that its second-quarter net income totalled $399 million US ($547 million Cdn) or 88 cents US per diluted share, in its latest quarter.
The result was up from net income of $351 million ($481 million Cdn), or 77 cents US per diluted share, a year earlier.
Revenue for the quarter ended June 30 reached $2.08 billion ($2.85 billion Cdn), up from $1.78 billion ($2.44 billion Cdn) in the same quarter last year.
Consolidated comparable sales rose 1.9 per cent, led by strength at Tim Hortons.
"We clearly saw softer sales than expected across our businesses in Q2, and it's not yet clear when we'll see the category strengthen," said Doyle on the same call as Kobza.
While Doyle conceded the sales weren't what they wanted, he also noted, "we did pretty well on a relative basis."
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