Approximately 138 million United States adults travel annually. As every traveler knows, life on the road can deviate wildly from the everyday. Perhaps nowhere is the difference more palpable than when it comes to finding something to eat. During their trips, U.S. consumers dine out at a restaurant 20% more than they do during their daily routines. On average, U.S. travelers take 4.2 trips a year, with 74% opting for restaurants during their journeys — a figure markedly higher than the 62% who dine out at home.
Whether on the road, exploring a new destination or traveling for work, food quality, fine dining and taste drive restaurant choice. Half of consumers leverage apps or websites to discover restaurants — a practice slightly more prevalent in daily life and with notable differences in income level and generation.
Despite the ubiquity of aggregators, a mere 4.4% utilized them for their most recent meal purchases at home. However, aggregator use jumps nearly four times when traveling, as 16% of consumers report consistently relying on them. Bridge millennials and affluent consumers report a greater preference for aggregator usage in their travels and daily lives.
These are just a few findings reported in the 12th installment of the PYMNTS Intelligence Connected Dining series. For “Tracking the Impact of Digital Tools on Food Tourism and Travel Preferences,” we surveyed 2,061 U.S. consumers between Sept. 8 and Sept. 11 to better understand how consumer habits differ while traveling compared to their restaurant habits at home.
Key Findings
Consumers visit restaurants 20% more frequently when traveling than in their daily routines.
Consumers report a 20% uptick in restaurant visits while traveling, making a clear connection between travel and dining out. Travel for many Americans has become an opportunity to pursue novel culinary experiences and food tourism. This trend underscores an ongoing evolution in consumer behavior: Activities such as dining out and trying new foods are pivotal in the travel experience.
Travel is more than a change of scenery. It alters dining habits for the 74% of travelers who eat at restaurants while away from home. This figure represents a marked departure from the 62% who dine out as part of their regular routines. Generation Z consumers deviate from this trend in a somewhat striking way, however, as this cohort visits restaurants the least at 66%. Instead, Gen Z consumers prefer ready-to-eat meals the most, at 40%.
Quality of food is the most important feature consumers consider when choosing a restaurant while traveling, trumping the convenience they prefer at home.
Overall, the distinction between eating habits for travelers becomes even more profound when considering the underlying factors. While on the road, food quality, fine dining and taste dominate the decision-making process for consumers. In contrast, back home, 82% of consumers prioritize convenience, reinforcing the extent to which travel reshapes dining priorities and highlighting the different levels of significance that consumers place on the same criteria between daily dining and travel dining.
For most consumers, travel magnifies the importance of food quality and authenticity. Seventy percent of consumers report the quality and experience of food sways their restaurant choices when traveling. Of these, 36% go so far as to label it the most crucial feature, a sentiment echoing the 46% who find food quality indispensable in travel and daily contexts. However, the pursuit of authentic flavors or the like matters most when traveling, with 52% placing a premium on local cuisine when away from home, outpacing daily preferences.
Likewise, U.S. consumers cite local experiences and ambiance over promotions on the road. The novelty of the dining experience, represented by unique spaces and cuisine, has taken a greater importance over cost-savings for many. Roughly one-third of travelers underscore the importance of a restaurant’s view or ambiance influencing their decision to dine, while 45% value a restaurant’s proximity to their location while staying away from home.
These elements resonate more deeply when compared to everyday dining preferences. The appeal of special deals and promotions matters less on the road, enticing a mere 1 in 4 travelers. In contrast, 36% of consumers prefer a good deal more during daily routines than traveling, signaling a shift in priorities with changing contexts.
Travel appears to open consumers up to serendipity, with fewer consumers using apps or websites to find a restaurant while traveling.
Digital platforms play a significant role in influencing consumers’ choice of restaurant. These sources of menu details, prices and the like have become pivotal in shaping consumers’ decisions when selecting dining options. Roughly half of respondents look to apps or websites to locate eateries while traveling.
However, this figure is slightly lower than the 53% who do during their day-to-day routines. This trend is more pronounced among younger generations. Sixty-seven percent of millennials and 65% of Gen Z consumers seek insight offered by apps or websites for dining decisions during travels. For daily routines, 73% of both demographics look to apps and websites.
When scouting a local spot, the opinions of friends and neighbors matters slightly more. High-income consumers, at 57%, cite a more pronounced preference for using digital platforms such as apps, social media or websites to uncover dining destinations when on the road. This preference contrasts with their low-income counterparts, with 38% exhibiting similar behavior. What’s more, high-income consumers represent the sole demographic that leans more heavily on these platforms during travel than in their day-to-day lives, representing a 57% to 54% split, respectively. This difference in behavior shows the role financial capacity plays in the digital exploration of dining experiences.
Just 4.4% of consumers used aggregators in daily life for their most recent restaurant purchase. However, 16% of consumers always use them when traveling.
Aggregator platforms, though prevalent elsewhere in the modern marketplace, are not the primary choice for consumers in their everyday restaurant selection. A mere 4.4% report using aggregators for their latest purchase. This use contrasts sharply with the habits of travelers, with nearly four times as many report they consistently rely on these platforms. Another 18% turn to them occasionally, resulting in roughly one-third of travelers employing aggregators at least sporadically during their journeys.
Aggregator use is more prevalent among bridge millennials when traveling, at 30%. Additionally, 21% of high-income consumers leverage aggregators, contrasting the 12% of middle-income and 11% of low-income travelers. Some consumers may use aggregators more frequently on the road as a replacement for room service or dining at a hotel restaurant when these services are unavailable. For these consumers, convenience is key.
Conclusion
U.S. consumer behavior toward restaurant selection continues to shift. The differences in habits on the road versus at home highlight these differences. Notably, while half of consumers utilize digital platforms in daily life to identify dining options, this reliance does tick up during travel, especially among younger generations and high-income brackets.
The data also reveals a divergence in the appeal of aggregators: While their use is minimal in everyday life, they become substantially more pertinent for travelers. Bridge millennials and affluent consumers exhibit higher tendencies to harness these platforms overall. For stakeholders in the restaurant and tech industries, understanding these evolving patterns is paramount, as they offer invaluable insights into market targeting and potential growth areas.
Methodology
“Tracking the Impact of Digital Tools on Food Tourism and Travel Preferences,” an independently produced PYMNTS Intelligence report, is based on a survey of 2,061 U.S. consumers conducted from Sept. 8 to Sept. 11, 2023, examining consumers’ food tourism and food preferences while traveling. Our sample was balanced to match the U.S. census in several key variables: 56% of our respondents identified as female, 38% had college degrees and 41% reported annual incomes of more than $100,000
“Tracking the Impact of Digital Tools on Food Tourism and Travel Preferences” is the most recent installment of PYMNTS’ Connected Dining series. For more, read the previous edition, “Connected Dining: The Robot Will Take Your Order Now.”
