Pop quiz: that’s the biggest predictor that someone will spend money with your restaurant?
There are lots of reasons someone might spend money with you. Maybe they like a specific dish, or you’re across the street from their office. But none of these variables is as good at predicting a potential patron as household income.
If you have to pick one criteria for targeting new customers, look no further than how much money they make, period. According to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, high-income households spend a higher percentage of their overall income on food and half of their food budgets on eating outside the home. That’s a recipe for marketing success if you’re a restaurateur.
Take a look at a few super interesting statistics from the BLS research:
- The average U.S. household spend $7,000 (12.5% of income) on food annually
- They spend $4,000 on eating in the home and $3,000 eating out
- Households in the top 20% for income spend over $12,000 on food per year
- High-income households spend 49% of their food budgets eating out
To illustrate, here’s a chart from the BLS:
In short, high-income patrons have more money, spend more of it on food, and use more of their food budget eating out. In fact, the top 20% of households by income spend two-thirds as much on eating out as all other income groups combined! There are plenty of things to overthink when you’re running a restaurant, but this isn’t one of them. If you want to get more customers, target high-income households.
Target your marketing and advertising dollars on high-income areas, and offer incentives to come back. You can also encourage repeat visits by really knowing who your customers are and how they spend money — with you and other businesses. Learn more, plus get free reputation monitoring and customer insights when you sign up for Womply Free!
Bonus: Read about how Aquarius Books in Kansas City uses Womply to target the right people and get more customers in the door.