Retail psychology of menus: the best advertising ever
It should come to no surprise that restaurant owners adjust their menus to increase check totals overall and to promote the items that bring in the most profit. We told you earlier today that when there were no dollar signs on the menu, customers spent more.
As Dave Pasegic of the Restaurant Resource Group notes, a menu ...
And the strategies used to promote high-profit items are very intriguing."is the only piece of printed advertising that you are virtually 100 percent sure will be read by the guest. Once placed in the guest’s hand, it can directly influence not only what they will order, but ultimately how much they will spend."
People don't read menus from top to bottom --- or at least, their gaze doesn't necessarily linger at the top. For example ....
People tend to remember the top two items on a list and the bottom item, says Miller. "Nothing goes in those spots by accident,"
said restaurant consultant Isidore Kharasch, president of Chicago-based Hospitality Works, in a Restaurant Association article.
Food service menus should also use pictures and use design elements to highlight specific items such as different fonts, recommends the Food Service Association of America. They also use table tents as a subtle cue to try a specialty drink or to save room for dessert.
You'll find retail psychology at work on the wine list as well. The authors of the Wall Street Journal's Tastings column recommend always avoiding the second-least expensive bottle of wine, because restaurateurs know that people will pick that one to avoid seeming too cheap. (They also recommend avoiding wine by the glass, because often the opened bottles have been sitting around so long they may have deteriorated).
Knowing more about these strategies definitely makes me lose my appetite, a bit. What do you think of these subtle ways that restaurants use to guide your meal selection?
