Deliverect, a global ecosystem that integrates and amplifies online orders for restaurants and food businesses, today announced new consumer research revealing Gen Z dining habits titled ‘The Age of Gen Z’.
The survey of more than 3,000 Gen Z consumers across the UK and US, which was commissioned by Deliverect and conducted by Censuswide, explores generational dining habits, including how and why consumers prioritize food from restaurants as part of their budgets.
Top Insights:
- 73% of Gen Z consumers consider themselves as foodies, yet only half (50%) would return to a restaurant or takeout spot solely based on food taste
- Nearly all (93%) of Gen Z value food recommendations from friends and family over social media influencers
- 42% of all respondents prefer to order takeout rather than go out to eat on a Friday night
Deliverect Co-Founder & CEO Zhong Xu said, “Gen Z presents a unique, yet vital, opportunity for restaurants; and as the summer season quickly approaches, restaurant owners need to do what they can to win over Gen Z’s share of wallet. Building trust and offering delicious food at a fair price is the recipe for success with this generation. In today’s competitive restaurant landscape, understanding Gen Z’s dining habits allows restaurateurs to tailor their offerings and marketing strategies to attract and retain this important customer base. Embracing value for money, leveraging the power of user-generated content, and catering to their desire for convenience, especially on weeknights, are core principles that will help restaurants remain a top spending priority for Gen Z and beyond.”
Online or Offline – Trust is Key
Gen Z trusts friends and family the most for food recommendations, with 93% valuing their opinions. Despite being digital natives, social media influencers are less trusted overall but still play a significant role.
With that said, social media is slightly more influential for discovering new places to eat (48% vs. 44% for friends/family), yet is less effective in persuading repeat visits. TikTok is particularly notable, with 70% of Gen Z considering it the most valuable source for recommendations, followed by Instagram (65%) and YouTube (41%).
This indicates that trust is an incredibly valuable metric for Gen Z; they want to feel confident in the advice they receive, whether from friends, family or their favorite food-influencer.
Gen Z Prioritize Eating Out
Gen Z is becoming increasingly financially savvy and is embracing the TikTok ‘loud budgeting’ trend. For Gen Z, cost is a critical factor in their dining choices and is cited as the next top reason for returning to a restaurant (42%) – with that number increasing to 44% when it comes to takeout restaurants. Cost consistently comes before other important factors such as service, location, cuisine type and more, for both dining in and when ordering takeout.
The study also found that eating out is a top spending priority (outside of rent/mortgage and household bills) for 1-in-5 Gen Z (21%). That’s in line with other top spending priorities including:
- Groceries (38%)
- Car payments (e.g., car finance, fuel, insurance, etc.) (22%)
- Clothes shopping (26%).
- Social activities (e.g., concert tickets, activities with friends, etc.) (19%)
- Skincare (18%)
It’s a Lifestyle: Dining Out and Ordering In
The results demonstrate that Gen Z’s food purchasing decisions are not influenced by their personal circumstance.
Whether eating out or ordering takeout, Gen Z returned to a restaurant mainly due to the taste of the food (50%). Specifically, when asked what influences their choice to eat out or get takeout the most, responses showed uniformity across different personal circumstances.
Regardless of their situation in life, many Gen Z are homebodies at heart, with 42% of respondents preferring to order in takeout rather than go out to eat on a Friday night (and 39% in the US) – a potential habit learned from the pandemic.
The Deliverect ‘The Age of Gen Z’ study follows Deliverect’s findings on digitization in the restaurant industry and marks the company’s commitment to providing ongoing research to continue examining consumer preferences and habits to identify opportunities and priorities for the restaurant industry to thrive.
