GLOBAL DINERS WANT FAMILIAR FOODS AND FAIR PRICES

9 April 2009
Taipei

While it may not be surprising to hear that one-third of global consumers choose a restaurant based on the type of cuisine—after all, food is the reason for eating out—what may be more intriguing is that more than one quarter (27%) prefer their local cuisine over international fare. A Nielsen global survey of Internet users in 52 markets across Europe, Asia Pacific, the Americas and the Middle East also revealed that globally, reasonably priced food is consumers’ second most important consideration (24%), though diners in Japan, Estonia, The Netherlands, Portugal, the Philippines, Belgium, Malaysia and Italy say that prices are actually the most important factor in their restaurant choice.

Value and variety
Both cuisine and reasonable prices far outrank other primary considerations such as a convenient location (10%), healthy food options (6%), décor and ambiance (2%) and recommendations from friends (2%), and ample parking (1%). Interestingly, only 2% of respondents choose a restaurant primarily because they don’t have time to prepare a meal at home, and globally, no respondents select restaurants because they’re considered the latest ‘in’ place.

'The type of cuisine' is the most important factor (29%) for Taiwanese diners, followed by reasonable prices (26%), convenient location (11%), good hygiene standard (8%) and family members’ preferences (4%).

Promotions sometimes work, especially in economy downturn. Singapore (14%), Canada (10%) and Taiwan (9%) are the top three markets where people have difficulties in resisting restaurants’ special offers and promotions. Taiwan is the top one market (7%) which take internet reviews as the most or second important factors when they choose restaurants.

Local cuisine (40%) are Taiwanese’ most favourite choice, followed by Japanese food (32%) and Italian food (8%).

Food favourites
Chinese and Italian food—perennial international favourites—are close runners up to local cuisine, with 26% and 17% of the global respondents choosing them as their second favourite choice. The most patriotic restaurant-goers are the Italians, with 91% saying they prefer their local cuisine, followed by consumers in Turkey (82%) and India (81%).

Frequency findings
The survey revealed two schools of thought on eating out: while the majority of global consumers (44%) dine out between one and three times per week, as many as 38% only enjoy a meal out-of-home once a month or less. Consumers in the Asia Pacific markets dine out more frequently than consumers in other regions, particularly in Hong Kong, where nearly one-third (31%) say they eat at restaurants every day or more than once a day. Almost one in seven Taiwanese say they eat out every day or more than once a day.

In contrast, Europeans are the least likely to venture out for a meal—more than half (56%) say they dine in restaurants at most once a month and 7% say they never eat out.

The frequency of out-of-home dining is reflective of local cultures. Many Asian countries emphasize out-of-home socializing, but Europeans are more likely to share a meal around the family table. The survey findings also provide insight into where the global financial meltdown has been felt most acutely, with more Europeans tightening their belts and curbing out-of-home entertainment.

Dining decisions
Dinner is by far the most popular out-of-home meal, with approximately 60% of global consumers saying they most commonly go out for the evening meal. This is consistent across most of the world’s regions with the exception of Latin America, where the mid-day meal is culturally considered the main meal of the day, and 73% of respondents go to restaurants for lunch.

More than one-third (37%) of the world’s consumers prefer to eat out on Saturday, followed by 31% who eat out on evenings during the Monday through Thursday week. More than half (55%) are most likely to enjoy a restaurant meal with family and friends—though only 5% say that family members’ preferences are the primary or secondary consideration for choosing a restaurant. Just over one-quarter of consumers (27%) dine out most often with their partners, 9% with work colleagues and 7% choose to dine out alone.

Cultural differences are reflected in the choice of companions for a restaurant meal. While only 4% of Latin Americans say they most often dine out with their partner; they are overwhelmingly more likely to go out with friends and family (69%) or work colleagues (14%). In contrast, 42% of Europeans are most likely to dine out with their partner and only 4% of North Americans are most likely to go to restaurants with colleagues from work.

Though more than half of Taiwanese (53%) dine out with family members or friends, and one-fourth enjoy a restaurant meal with their partners, Taiwan is still the top one ‘eating out alone’ market (13%) around the globe.

Check, please
With nearly half the world’s consumers eating out at restaurants several times a week, restauranteurs should be reassured that dining out remains an affordable luxury and preferred entertainment option, despite recessionary times. The most certain route to on-going success is well-prepared local cuisine offered with value and pricing in mind.

Quick Service Restaurants – A Bright Spot in an Ailing Economy
While most industries are cutting spending due to economic cutbacks, Nielsen reports that Quick Serve Restaurants have increased ad spending in the U.S. 11.6% (US$341 million) over the same period in 2007. Nearly 40% was spent on Spot TV (US$1.27 billion), followed by Cable and Network TV (with spending in each medium of approximately US$745 million). Most media experienced healthy gains, with the exception of Network TV, National Magazines, Local Newspaper, and FSI Coupon.

Quick Serve Restaurants also increased 18% advertising budget (NT$105 million) in 2008 while the total Taiwan’s advertising market fell 6.6%. McDonald's, KFC and PizzaHut are the top three Quick Serve Restaurant advertisers in 2008 with increasing ad investment.

About The Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey
The Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey, conducted by Nielsen Customized Research, was conducted in October 2008 among 26,202 internet users in 52 markets from Europe, Asia Pacific, North & Latin America and the Middle East. The largest half-yearly survey of its kind, the Nielsen Global Online Consumer Confidence and Opinion Survey provides insight into current confidence levels, spending habits/intentions and the major concerns of consumers across the globe.

About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit www.nielsen.com.