Dig Into a Trio of Dining Trends for 2024

The dining industry has shown its agility over the past couple of years, as it rapidly adapted to shifts in consumer preferences brought on by COVID and rising prices. And with a new year around the corner, the pace of change shows no signs of slowing down.

Given that backdrop, Placer.ai’s latest white paper explores the trends that will shape the dining space in 2024 by harnessing location analytics, including visitation patterns, demographic data and psychographic insights.

Three major findings emerged from that research:

• Younger Consumers Drive Late Night QSR Visits: QSR leaders have seen an increase in late-night and weekend visits, partially driven by the unique dining habits of Gen-Z and millennial consumers. As this cohort continues to prioritize socializing at such places, these trends are likely to continue shaping the QSR space in 2024.
• Sports Brings in the Visitors: Restaurants that take advantage of an NCAA rule change allowing college athletes to enter brand deals can boost visits by identifying sponsorship opportunities that will engage their consumer base. And restaurants nearby college stadiums see major game day boosts from desirable audience segments.
• Sub Sandwiches See Sustained Success: Major sandwich chains have experienced strong visit growth during a period that has proven challenging for many dining establishments. And many of these chains are expanding, fueled by strong visits and an engaged customer.

Click here for more from the white paper.