How to market your Restaurant to the Millennial Generation

Updated October 23rd, 2013

The Millennial generation is the largest generation seen since the baby boomers, and they represent a great spending power. What makes them different?

Millennials, also known as Generation Y, are loosely defined as anyone born between 1977 and 1992 (Source). It is an extremely diverse group and is made up of between 50 and 90 million individuals. No matter how you slice it, it is a group with enormous buying power that restaurants would be wise not to ignore.

Although Millennials have been hit hardest by the economic recession, with a higher unemployment rate than the rest of the population, they are also the generation that eats out the most and spends the most in restaurants in terms of volume of sales. Singles, DINKS (Double Income No Kids), career driven, lack of time, travel enthusiasts, showing off success, etc., are all reasons for them to prefer to go out often for meals.

So, how do you get these regular spenders to visit your restaurant more often? Here are some ideas:

1. The Millennial generation is increasingly globally minded. They are interested in trying new, exciting and ethnic foods and view dining out as an opportunity to try something different.
2. For Millennials, eating out isn’t just about eating. It is a time to socialize, eat good food, be seen eating and talk about eating. Restaurants should take the social aspect of dining into consideration, and make it easy for large groups to be accommodated. Smart restaurant managers should also strive to create an atmosphere and environment in which guests feel comfortable staying for longer periods of time.
3. They adopt new technologies quickly. More than a third of Millennials report looking at restaurant menus via a smartphone “often” or “very often”. It is very important to maintain your restaurant’s online presence and ensure that your website is mobile friendly. Millennials report that they check-in to a restaurant via an app. If you want to reach the Millennial generation, use social media marketing and incorporate new technological inventions into your concept.
4. They like snacks. Well, everyone likes snacks. Millennials, however, report patronizing restaurants during off-peak hours much more frequently than other generations. Restaurants that offer special deals during off-peak hours or happy hour snack specials are likely to appeal to the Millennial generation.

Take these Millennial traits seriously as they have a major impact on your long-term success and sustainability! They are the latest trend setters and will be on the market for a while to come ;-)

Written by Daniel Grossmann