22 Menu Facts You Won’t Believe Are True
Whether you aren’t sure how to start your menu process or you need a little advice and inspiration, our compilation of 22 hot menu facts will help you get started. Find out what you need to do to win your customer over and maximize profits for your establishment.
1. Customers will pay up to 15% more for the same food item with a fancier name.
2. Items priced as an even number in high-end restaurants are much more profitable.
3. The average customer spends 109 seconds looking at a menu.
4. If a dollar sign is used in the items’ prices, customers will purchase the cheaper options.
5. The more capitalized letters a menu uses, the more customers will scan over your menu.
6. The most profitable menu items are located in the upper center of the right side of a menu.
7. When restaurants offer multiple pages of food options, customers are much more willing to settle for something they don’t really want.
8. When prices are listed in a column, customers price shop.
9. Customers eat up to 30% more when they believe they are drinking California red wine over New Zealand red wine.
10. The more information provided about each wine vintage, the more likely customers are to order wine.
11. Customers are willing to pay more for items with quality adjectives in the description, such as “farm-raised”.
12. Customers consider items with negative space around them to be of higher value.
13. With the exception of high-end restaurants, reds and yellows are the most profitable colors to use on a menu.
14. Excessive photos throughout menus give the perception of lower quality.
15. On the other hand, menu items listed beside high-quality photos increases sales by 30%.
16. Using icons beside menu items has a positive impact in customers’ minds.
17. Customers are more likely to read one long sentence than a few short sentences in an item description.
18. In high-traffic areas, restaurants with menus listed outside of the restaurant are more profitable.
19. Menus in poor condition result in fewer sales.
20. Customers pay significantly more attention to locally-sourced food items.
21. Online menus increase sales.
22. Good copywriting can allow a restaurant to raise the price of an item by 70% without a customer complaint.
