Fewer price increases and ordering fees and new dining experiences are planned along with a greater reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) and automationATLANTA, Jan. 30, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- After contending with another year of high food and labor costs, financially stressed consumers, and fierce competition, U.S. restaurant operators are approaching 2025 with a focus on engaging more guests, more often. Consumers will see new pricing, ordering and marketing strategies, unique dining experiences, and higher usage of AI to enhance hospitality and bridge labor gaps.This is according to recent studies of 359 U.S. restaurant operators and 1,000 U.S. consumers by Popmenu, a tech leader serving more than 10,000 restaurants."2024 was an incredibly difficult year for many restaurants who saw unsustainable costs grow and guest traffic decline," said Brendan Sweeney, CEO and Co-founder of Popmenu

Majority of consumers typically order non-alcoholic beverages when they go out to dinner; one-third of consumers just drink water at restaurantsMargarita is the most popular holiday cocktailAverage spend on alcohol while having dinner at restaurants is around $30 per consumerATLANTA, Dec. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- As U.S. consumers gather together at restaurants to toast the holidays, water and other non-alcoholic beverages will likely be in many glasses. Half (50%) of consumers plan to dine at or order from restaurants for December holidays.1 When eating out for dinner, 61% of consumers say they typically order non-alcoholic beverages; 33% of consumers typically just drink water with most favoring tap water.Restaurant operators say this is a growing trend—more than half (55%) report that more guests are choosing to drink water instead of ordering other beverages.This is according to Popmenu's nationwide surveys of 874 U.S. consumers, ages 21 and older, and 365 U.S. restaurant leaders in September 2024 and 1,000 U.S

Ordering out for Thanksgiving jumped year over year while dining in person at restaurants declined as budgets tighten. On average, consumers expect to spend around $170 on Thanksgiving dinner, whether dining out or cooking at homeATLANTA, Nov. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Popmenu's annual study on Thanksgiving dining trends shows a number of consumers are going to leave the cooking to the professionals, but prefer to eat at home. This year, 37% of consumers reported that they plan to order takeout or delivery from restaurants for their Thanksgiving dinner, up from 32% last year. Another 5% plan to dine at a restaurant on Thanksgiving, down from 17% last year. When asked how much they anticipate they will spend on Thanksgiving dinner for themselves and their guests, the average amount was $170