Culinary Complements: 82% of Restaurant Subscribers Use Loyalty Programs

The most steadfast and engaged restaurant customers are those who have subscriptions to dine at a particular eatery, franchise or group. When a loyalty program is also offered, subscribers enroll at a higher rate than nonsubscribers — and also have a tendency to dine more frequently.

Restaurant patrons with subscriptions are also more likely to judge an eatery by something other than the taste of the food. Customer experience features — such as an easy-to-navigate, appealing website — are appreciated more by those who subscribe to a restaurant than those who don’t, PYMNTS research shows.

Subscribers are not ordinary diners; they are loyal enthusiasts. Restaurant subscribers underscore user experience details other diners might fail to observe. Further, in a recent PYMNTS study with Paytronix, 78% of respondents who were restaurant subscribers said they were “very” or “extremely” loyal to their preferred dining locale.

Restaurant subscribers and loyalty programs go hand-in-hand, with 58% of subscribers stating that loyalty programs were an important factor when choosing a restaurant. Some 82% of restaurant subscribers said they also use loyalty programs at their preferred eateries.

A higher percentage of restaurant subscribers are younger and more affluent than nonsubscribers. Subscribers are more likely to be millennials (39%), bridge millennials (31%), have a college degree (24%) or earn more than $100,000 per year (21%) than nonsubscribers, the research showed.

The restaurant subscription, an often overlooked customer engagement tool, is something that 42% of respondents are curious about. Offering and promoting subscription services can help restaurants build customer loyalty and financial resilience.

To learn more about restaurant subscribers’ preferences, download the Digital Divide: Restaurant Subscribers And Loyalty Programs, a PYMNTS and Paytronix collaboration.