More than forty percent of consumers say they are loyal to their favorite restaurants and will go there whether or not the establishment has a promotion, reports The NPD Group, a leading market research company. 

And although there are still more than one-third of consumers looking for bargains when choosing a restaurant, this large group of “loyal” restaurant consumers defines value as more than price, according to a recently released NPD foodservice report.

Quality is a key driver for the “loyalist” restaurant consumers, and quality remains the most important value driver for most consumers when choosing restaurants; even bargain hunters want quality for the price, according to the NPD report entitled “Defining Value Today: How Consumers Choose to Eat Out.”

“Consumers choosing where to dine is subject to some of the same pricing and deal pressures as other retail categories, but there remains large segments of the population for whom ‘value’ is much more than the lowest prices,” says Bonnie Riggs, NPD restaurant industry analyst. “Given this, operators will want to execute different marketing campaigns to appeal to a broad base, while remaining relevant to those seeking out the lowest price and best deals.”