Consumer Trends: Page 3

  • A close up of a gas pump that shows unleaded, plus and premium fuel with prices over $4 and $5 a gallon.
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    Getty Images
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    Gas price spikes don’t impact restaurant traffic: BTIG

    By analyzing 20 years of data, the firm found little correlation between gas prices hikes and restaurant traffic drops.

    By • March 18, 2026
  • An image of various burritos and other items from Taco Bell.
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    Permission granted by Taco Bell
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    Q4 2025’s restaurant winners and loses

    Casual dining? Good, not great. Fast casual? Bad, not terrible. Taco Bell? Living Más. Wendy's? Living Menos.

    By • March 16, 2026
  • Front-of-end restaurant staff uses SevenRooms' customer relationship management software. Explore the Trendline➔
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    Courtesy of SevenRooms
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    Trendline

    How AI is shaping the restaurant industry

    Automated technology can transform restaurant systems and relieve pressure from rising operating costs, opening up new opportunities for chains looking to sharpen their value proposition. 

    By Restaurant Dive staff
  • Three brightly colored drinks from Sonic.
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    Courtesy of Sonic
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    Sonic launches caffeinated refreshers as QSR drinks boom

    The drinks boast 45 milligrams of caffeine alongside fruit inclusions, giving the brand a premium product for snacking occasions and the afternoon daypart.

    By • March 16, 2026
  • Burger King ad campaign
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    Retrieved from Burger King on March 13, 2026
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    Burger King’s CMO on firing its mascot as brand evolves in new campaign

    “There’s A New King And It’s You” is the next step in a turnaround effort that puts the fast food chain’s customers at the forefront.

    By Chris Kelly • March 16, 2026
  • Freshly roasted coffee beans are seen in a barrel
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Coffee, cold brew sales slip as lattes, energy drinks surge

    Drip coffee and cold brew orders fell in 2025 as energy drinks exploded and premium, handcrafted coffees saw a modest rise.

    By • March 11, 2026
  • Layne's Chicken Fingers
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    Permission granted by Layne's Chicken Fingers
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    Layne’s Chicken Fingers thinks it has what it takes to go national

    Cane’s. Dave’s. Now Layne’s? A small Texas chicken chain wants to be the next big thing. Multi-unit operators, a simple menu and a premium product could make it happen.

    By • March 11, 2026
  • A Taco Bell Mexican Pizza with premium chicken
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    Courtesy of Taco Bell
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    Taco Bell makes Nacho Fries permanent, teases more LTOs

    The brand showed off more than 20 new menu items at its third-annual Live Más LIVE event, including LTOs meant to ramp up sales momentum.

    By • March 10, 2026
  • An image of people with gray hair holding up wine glasses while at a restaurant
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    Getty Images
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    How restaurants can prepare for an influx of aging diners

    People aged 65 and older will account for 18% of all U.S. restaurant spending in 2030, up from just 10% in 2025, according to Technomic.

    By Michael Brady • March 9, 2026
  • A Papa John's sign.
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    Joe Raedle / Staff via Getty Images
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    Papa Johns plans CX upgrades following corporate cuts

    The pizza chain will enhance its app with an AI-powered food ordering agent in the coming quarter, CEO Todd Penegor said.

    By Bryan Wassel • March 2, 2026
  • An image of a building with a sign that says "Sweetgreen."
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    Courtesy of Sweetgreen
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    Sweetgreen may change its pricing after disaster quarter

    The salad chain suffered the worst quarter among major fast casual restaurants. It is now rethinking everything from core prices to its menu’s emphasis on bowls.

    By • Feb. 27, 2026
  • A sign marks the location of an Outback Steakhouse restaurant on November 02, 2021 in Skokie, Illinois.
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    Scott Olson / Staff via Getty Images
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    Outback posts first traffic growth in 5 years

    New steaks improved guest satisfaction, and fresh investments in facilities, labor and marketing could help build the brand’s transaction momentum.

    By • Feb. 25, 2026
  • Peter the Pita Chip plushie on a Cava bag
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    Courtesy of Cava
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    Cava hits $1B in sales, but traffic growth slows

    The chain will work to boost visits with menu innovation and other initiatives, CFO Tricia Tolivar said, as the fast casual category fights off headwinds.

    By • Feb. 24, 2026
  • Couche-Tard
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    Retrieved from Couche-Tard.
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    Inside the 18-month reset reviving Couche-Tard’s US food business

    After a hot start in 2020, Circle K’s Fresh Food, Fast program slowed. Executives are now fine-tuning the offering through operational improvements and menu updates to spark new growth.

    By Brett Dworski • Feb. 23, 2026
  • A hand lifts a slice of stuffed crust pizza topped with pepperoni and peppers. The slice trails strings of melted mozzarella.
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    Courtesy of Domino's
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    Domino’s wants to double its market share

    CEO Russell Weiner thinks the chain can capture half of the QSR pizza market at the expense of Pizza Hut and Papa Johns.

    By • Feb. 23, 2026
  • Jack in the Box
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Why Jack in the Box bets parking lot paint can cure sales

    The chain hopes improvements to product quality and restaurant cosmetics will reverse sliding same-store sales and help prepare for a full remodel program.

    By • Feb. 19, 2026
  • A hand dips a chicken tender into a sauce
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    Courtesy of Wingstop
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    How Wingstop plans to weather traffic slides and winter storms

    The company expects investments in speed of service and in loyalty systems will reverse a third quarter of comparable sales declines.

    By • Feb. 18, 2026
  • AI-generated Paris Hiltons in a Carl's Jr. ad
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    Courtesy of Carl's Jr.
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    Deep Dive

    How QSRs are building on value marketing with pop culture, nostalgia

    Fast food marketers including McDonald’s, Burger King and Wendy’s will have to move beyond price-point value to drive sales and traffic.

    By Chris Kelly • Feb. 18, 2026
  • A woman smiles while holding her phone over a payment terminal held by a man in a cafe. The setting is bright and welcoming with a brick wall backdrop.
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    Shutterstock.com/PeopleImages

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    Sponsored by Affinity Solutions

    What last year’s receipts say about the year ahead

    Think consumers pulled back in 2025? Not exactly. Shoppers didn’t stop spending, they got pickier. Dive into trends shaping retail behavior and what they signal for 2026.

    Feb. 17, 2026
  • An exterior image of a Wonder food Hall
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    Permission granted by Wonder
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    Wonder buys a brand, deploys two more

    Grubhub’s owner is betting on elevated fried chicken and bowl-based concepts at a moment when fast casual’s core consumers are ailing.

    By • Feb. 11, 2026
  • An image of three protein bowls from Sweetgreen
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    Permission granted by Sweetgreen
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    Limited-service restaurants are losing traffic to grocers and casual chains

    QSR and fast casual chains will need to improve holistic value and on-premise experiences to bring people back, Placer.ai’s R.J. Hottovy says.

    By • Feb. 9, 2026
  • An image of several specialty drinks from Taco Bell's Live Mas Cafe lined up on a white counter top.
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    Permission granted by Taco Bell/Diversified Restaurant Group
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    How Yum is adapting Taco Bell’s playbook for KFC

    The parent company has worked to align the strategies between the two QSR brands to bring some of Taco Bell’s success to the chicken chain.

    By • Feb. 5, 2026
  • A sign on a Chipotle restaurant.
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    Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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    Chipotle spends more on marketing amid search for ‘unicorn’ CMO

    The fast casual chain plans to better support its marketing with targeted media as it looks to reverse negative sales growth.

    By Chris Kelly • Feb. 4, 2026
  • Mockups of Just Salad's Rewards program
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    Courtesy of Just Salad
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    Just Salad launches ‘instant gratification’ rewards system

    While many restaurant chains are shifting to points-based programs, the salad brand is leaning into gamified mystery rewards on every order above $12.

    By • Feb. 2, 2026
  • Two people working in the restaurant My 2 Cents.
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    Permission granted by Square
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    What’s the restaurant industry outlook for 2026?

    After a bruising year, restaurants face another spell of serious uncertainty. But there are bright spots in beverage innovation and casual dining, and diner spending may improve.

    By • Jan. 30, 2026
  • A person in a white shirt hold up a stick of meat while a person at a table takes a portion of meat off the stick. Another person is taking a photograph with a smartphone
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    Courtesy of Fogo de Chao
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    Deep Dive

    Casual chains need to prioritize experience to win in 2026

    Restaurant brands that offer affordability alongside a positive guest experience will thrive this year, and customers will keep coming back, experts say.

    By • Jan. 29, 2026