According to a new report from Sandelman & Associates, "Usage of Restaurant Chain Web Sites," most quick-service restaurant (QSR) users not only have never visited a restaurant chain website — they have little interest in ever doing so.
Only 24% of QSR users reported ever visiting a restaurant chain website, with incidence slightly higher among females.
The overwhelming reason for visiting, amongst both heavy and all QRS users, was to find a location, followed by getting either menu or nutritional information and to find out about promotional offers.
Unlike most industries, restaurant chains are making almost no effort to take advantage of e-commerce opportunities, as evidenced by the fact that 0% of those surveyed went online to place an order.
The survey found that 75% of the respondents had never visited a restaurant website, and fully 95% had no plans to do so within the next month.
In the Nation's Restaurant News, Stuart Morris, president of QSR Consulting Group, said restaurants have "yet to crack the code on stimulating website traffic into incremental restaurant traffic," not to mention online takeout business.
He noted that, although web demographics should be ideal, QSR sites have "virtually no appeal to the very same young adults who place a high value on restaurant meal consumption."
By not utilizing their online assets, restaurants are missing opportunities to:
- Communicate with customers
- Drive traffic to offline destinations
- Create online takeout revenues
- Deliver low-cost promotions
- Increase brand loyalty
The scant traffic on restaurant chain websites is not for lack of Internet access or usage by fast food customers. The Sandelman report found that the vast majority of QSR users (over 70%) are Internet users. About one-third of QSR users spend an average of one hour a day or more (seven or more hours a week) on the Internet, while almost half spend three hours a week or less.
Their targets are unquestionably online — so why the fast-food industry has been so slow to come online, too, remains a mystery.