Consumer Behavior Trends-Please Review this Article

Perhaps no group has pivoted more quickly and more visibly during the pandemic than the restaurant industry. City landscapes across the U.S. have changed: tables, chairs and plywood structures sitting where cars used to park, pedestrians sharing sidewalks with diners and space heaters, thermometer-wielding hosts working double-duty as health monitors.

The pandemic has taxed restaurant workers, who are asked to provide service but haven't received enough of it themselves, says Brandon Jew, chef and owner of Mister Jiu's in San Francisco. "We all want hospitality," he says. Nationally, chains and independent eateries alike have struggled to hire back staff who are opting instead to stay on unemployment or work in other industries.

For many restaurant owners, pandemic-related labor shortages laid bare what was no longer working in an industry defined by its unrelenting work culture, and provided a window for experimentation. Many restaurants reopened post-lockdown with permanently revised pay structures and operations, as well as new standards to address burnout.

"This is the very best time to rebuild a restaurant," says Mark Canlis, co-owner of Canlis in Seattle, who compares the pandemic to a hurricane. If one room of a house is already in poor shape, "you're not going to build that room back the same way if a hurricane has devastated your house," he says.

While some chefs eagerly await the day when they can pack their dining rooms again, many acknowledge that Covid-19 forced an industry used to doing things one way into adopting some new practices, to unexpected success. Here, the biggest changes that are here to stay, according to restaurateurs, chefs and industry experts.

1. DINING OUTDOORS

Outdoor dining space will continue to be in demand, even for fine dining restaurants that used to balk at al fresco seating. For chef and restaurateur Marcus Samuelsson, the 90-seat patio at his Red Rooster Overtown in Miami "saved our business." Restaurateurs hoping to maintain the outdoor dining spaces that kept them afloat during the pandemic are in luck; many cities and states are making permanent their expansions of outdoor dining, with legislation introduced or passed in states including Arkansas, Rhode Island and Connecticut, as well as New York City.

2. PHYSICAL SPACE FOR DIGITAL ORDERS

More online orders means more restaurant space needed to service those orders. Since last March, Chipotle has ramped up its Chipotlanes, drive-through lanes for customers who have ordered ahead, as well as a second "make line" in the kitchen for preparing those orders, and it expects to see Chipotlanes in more than 70% of new Chipotle restaurants in the U.S. and Canada. It has also introduced shelves in some locations where customers can pick up their orders without talking to employees, as well as its first digital-only restaurant without a dining room or front service line, which the company plans on expanding "where it makes sense," says Chief Restaurant Officer Scott Boatwright.

3. CLEAN AND CLEAN AGAIN

Increased hygiene practices won't be going away. For Rodney Scott of Rodney Scott's Whole Hog BBQ in Charleston, S.C., and Birmingham, Ala., sterilizing high-touch areas like doorknobs and tables was a big adjustment, but a practice that his restaurants will continue for the foreseeable future. "Sanitation is forefront for consumers right now," says Mike Whatley, the National Restaurant Association's vice president of state affairs and grass roots advocacy. Restaurants that have invested in things that provide ease-of-mind for consumers, such as upgrading HVAC systems, will continue to have a competitive advantage, he says.

4. HIGHER PRICES

Expect to see higher wages and more staff benefits reflected in your menu prices. "Canlis is more expensive now than it's ever been, and you're eating in a yurt outdoors in a parking lot," says Mr. Canlis, who provided healthcare to staff who worked through the pandemic. He sees more restaurants adopting these practices. The same way guests have developed an understanding and appreciation for a restaurant's sustainability and sourcing practices, "you're going to see the exact same thing from a human capital standpoint," he says. John deBary, the co-founder and board president of the Restaurant Workers' Community Foundation, a restaurant worker advocacy nonprofit, predicts a 20% increase in menu prices for restaurants that change their labor practices.

5. FEWER OPTIONS ON MENUS

Fine dining customers will continue to see more limited menus. During the pandemic, Maydan in Washington, D.C., switched from an a la carte menu to a set, family-style menu, which helped the restaurant better predict and control its food orders, says owner Rose Previte. She doesn't know if the restaurant will ever go back to a la carte. Dirt Candy in Manhattan used to have two extensive high-end tasting menus and has since pared back to one five-course tasting menu at dinner in addition to all-day a la carte options, decreasing food costs significantly, says owner and chef Amanda Cohen. She plans on sticking with a smaller menu in the future.

6. DRINKS TO GO

Relaxed liquor laws allowed restaurants to sell cocktails mixed on-site for takeout or delivery, helping many of them stay open. Like others in the industry, Ms. Previte says that takeout wine and bottled cocktails were a game-changer, and she hopes to keep them on the menu at both of her D.C. restaurants, Maydan and Compass Rose. Since the pandemic, 36 states have started allowing cocktails to-go and seven have made that legislation permanent.

7. TAKING CARE OF WORKERS

Before the pandemic, if restaurant workers were sick, they would often be expected to find someone to cover their shifts or risk losing their jobs, Mr. deBary says. Paid time off was rare. But the pandemic has forced a reckoning. More restaurant owners are giving workers time off for getting vaccinated and other activities, as well as offering health insurance to staff, which Mr. deBary has seen work with a 5% increase in total revenue allocated to labor.

8. DIGITAL CHECK, PLEASE

From mobile apps for fast-food chains to newly implemented online ordering options for independent eateries, an increased digital presence will endure. That includes paying by app or QR code instead of a paper bill, says Andrew Robbins, founder of Paytronix Systems Inc., a digital customer-experience platform for restaurants. Contactless mobile payments for restaurants on the Paytronix platform rose to $526,000 a month during the pandemic, up from $96,000 a month, while total payments fell by 60%. With the contactless payments, tips are 4% higher and table turnovers are five minutes faster on average, and customers are happier, Mr. Robbins says. "The last five minutes when you're waiting to pay are the least enjoyable part of the experience," he says.

9. MERCH, KITS AND PACKAGED FOODS

When indoor dining was curtailed, another source of revenue emerged in selling merchandise, including meal kits, spices and packaged foods. Mr. Jew is turning one entrance of his restaurant into a gift shop which will sell souvenirs and goods from the Bay Area. He is also expanding into the frozen food aisle, joining with local grocery stores to sell prepackaged Mister Jiu's food like chips and lap cheong. The revenue will help ease staff workload during peak hours and lessen the pressure to turn more tables and pack more seats, says Mr. Jew. According to Mr. Samuelsson, beautifully packaged gift food, what he calls a "party in a box experience," is here to stay and will become another extension of a restaurant's brand.

10. TIPPING THE PAY SCALES

Covid-spurred closures gave some restaurant owners an opportunity to address what some view as an unfair pay divide between front and back of house staff. Mr. Jew eliminated tipping at his restaurant during the pandemic in favor of a 15% service charge divided between staff based on a point system tracking tenure and responsibility. Diana Davila, chef and owner of Chicago's Mi Tocaya Antojeria made a similar move. It isn't fair for a server to make $80,000 a year while a cook makes $40,000, she says, since guests tip not just on service but also cleanliness, ambience, food and beverage. Although eliminating tipping isn't new, the pandemic accelerated shifts that were already happening, with more restaurateurs thinking about worker well-being and revising pay structures, says Mr. deBary.

Part of marketing concerns the study of consumer behavior. Most marketers are studying possible changes brought on by the pandemic (both temporary and permanent). The article attached appeared in a recent Wall Street Journal article and reviews some of the anticipated permanent changes in marketing tactics (restaurant industry) brought on by changes in consumer habits brought on by the pandemic. Do you agree or disagree with the assessment here?

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