2025
9
US Restaurant Value and Pricing Market Report 2025
2025-12-04T16:02:14+00:00
REPBD18B667_2322_46B8_9E94_C9ED15693E85
4995
189369
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Report
en_GB
Consumers are feeling pressured by rising prices and are dining out less. These financial pressures will persist well into 2026, resulting in diners cutting back and cooking at home more.
US
Foodservice
simple

US Restaurant Value and Pricing Market Report 2025

"Diners are fatigued by increased prices and want to see restaurant brands meaningfully reconsider what providing good value for money means."

Varchasvi, Research Analyst

Varchasvi, Research Analyst

Market Intelligence ReportsFoodserviceUS

US Restaurant Industry – Pricing Trends and Insights

  • Consumers are feeling pressured by rising prices and are dining out less. These financial pressures will persist well into 2026, resulting in diners cutting back and cooking at home more.
  • While nearly half say rising prices are unavoidable, only 31% of consumers believe current prices reflect the true cost of running a restaurant. There’s a growing perception that menu prices aren’t fair, making diners increasingly skeptical about whether they’re getting good value.
  • Across the industry, chains are adopting value-boosting strategies: barbell pricing, bundle deals, promises of quality upgrades and unmatched value. However, navigating complex deals to find what feels like the right price can leave consumers exhausted, turning eating away from home into a chore rather than a relaxing experience.
  • Younger diners are redefining value paradigms, favoring convenience, clarity and emotional resonance over traditional markers. Even so, 74% of consumers say finding a good deal is exciting, so the impact of value plays on the joy of dining out cannot be discounted.
  • Consumers are navigating a delicate balance between financial caution and the desire for rewarding experiences. Operators face the challenge of making dining feel worthwhile and, more importantly, signaling they’re on the customer’s side – where providing fair value truly matters.

This Report Looks at the Following Areas:

  • Price pressures and shifts in value-seeking behavior
  • What “good value for money” really means
  • What makes dining out feel worth the spend
  • The future of value perception
  • Deals and discounts that attract consumers
  • Consumer sentiment around restaurant pricing
Collapse All

  1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

    • What you need to know
    • Outlook for value in dining
    • Opportunities
    • Start with functional value: convenience is the foundation
    • Graph 1: younger generations’ focus on convenience, 2025
    • Delight with emotional value: emotional payoff is the differentiator
    • Graph 2: younger generations’ focus on enjoyment, 2025
    • Barbell pricing and smaller menu items are a mainstay in the value-oriented market
    • Play on quantity for price-sensitive diners
    • Graph 3: current price perception, by financial situation, 2025
    • Graph 4: factors that make restaurant dining feel “worth the expense”, by financial situation, 2025

  2. THE MARKET

    • The government shutdown has left SNAP recipients facing new delays and deeper food insecurity
    • Cost of food away from home still on the incline
    • Graph 5: Consumer Price Index for all Urban consumers, not seasonally adjusted – food AH and AFH, 2024-25
    • Tipping frustrations will influence pricing strategies at restaurants
    • Graph 6: consumers who are tipping over 15% more often than last year, by various demographics, 2025
    • Industry weighs in on why value is centerstage right now

  3. CONSUMER INSIGHTS

    • Shifting dining habits: how consumers are navigating value
    • Increased prices are changing the dining mindset: from impulse to intention
    • Graph 7: change in dining behaviors compared to last year – select behaviors, 2025
    • Price pressures can make the joy of dining feel like a chore
    • Graph 8: select dining behaviors consumers are doing MORE of, by financial situation, 2025
    • Gen Z, Millennials value convenience over experience
    • Graph 9: select attitudes – value-oriented dining, by generation, 2025
    • Defining value and worth in dining
    • Value begins and ends with food and price; everything else is secondary
    • Graph 10: factors that define “good value for money”, 2025
    • Value meets baseline expectations, but worth comes from surprises
    • Graph 11: factors that make restaurant dining feel “worth the expense”, 2025
    • The definition of value in foodservice will become increasingly fragmented
    • Graph 12: factors that define “good value for money”, by generation, 2025
    • Graph 13: factors that make restaurant dining feel “worth the expense”, by generation, 2025
    • Understanding Gen Z’s new value paradigm
    • Graph 14: select attitudes – value and worth, by generation, 2025
    • If traditional cues of value won’t stand out to younger diners, what will?
    • Deals and discounts that drive decisions
    • When base prices feel unfair, deals may lose their power to delight
    • Graph 15: current price perception for foodservice, 2025
    • Diners want to know the full cost of their meal upfront
    • Graph 16: preference for deals/discounts – NET – any rank, 2025
    • Gen Z, Millennials see current prices as fair and manageable, but may be fatigued by complex deals/discounts
    • Graph 17: current price perception for foodservice, by generation, 2025
    • The best deals deliver simplicity and surprise
    • The best deals deliver simplicity and surprise, making dining feel truly worth it

  4. INNOVATION AND MARKETING STRATEGIES

    • QSR meal deals deliver on consumers’ need for predictable spending
    • Challenging price with quality
    • Quantity-emphasis in casual dining fueled social buzz in 2025
    • Upselling and driving trial: deals that encouraging adding on an extra item
    • Variety is value too: appetizer combos see success at casual dining chains
    • Fair value framing offers diners a nostalgic break from increased prices
    • &pizza cuts prices to drive volume
    • Reestablishing worth: Starbucks’ 2025 moves that signal fair value

  5. APPENDIX

    • Consumer research questions
    • Consumer research methodology
    • Generations
    • TURF analysis – factors that define “good value for money”
    • TURF analysis – factors that justify dining expense
    • TURF analysis methodology
    • Abbreviations and terms

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