Moms deserve a scrumptious celebration. In time for Mother’s Day, restaurants and their food delivery partners can unburden mothers from the chore of cooking by delivering the gifts of ease, convenience and nourishment.
Over the past year, moms have been starved for time amid the disruption of working from home and supporting their children’s virtual schooling. Meanwhile, grandmothers have been starved for social connection, as many of them have only seen their loved ones on Zoom.
Restaurants can satisfy consumers’ unmet needs. Using timely, empathetic digital marketing can help restaurant operators stand out on food delivery apps (like DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub and Postmates) and sell more online this Mother’s Day – and all year round.
Delight moms with what they really want
According to the NRF, 83% of consumers plan to celebrate Mother’s Day in 2021. On average, shoppers plan to spend $220.48 (up $16 since last year), the highest amount in the history of NRF’s Mother’s Day surveys. 1
Most (62%) moms say they would love to eliminate the chore of cooking on Mother’s Day. Dinner is the most important meal on Mother’s Day, and most moms prefer restaurant meals (53%) to home cooked meals (39%). 2
Given consumers’ willingness to spend and Mom’s appetite for restaurants, Mother’s Day 2021 is poised to be a powerful sales event for restaurants.
Restaurants need new ways to navigate market trends
The restaurant industry faces consolidation, as 17% (110,000) of U.S. restaurants permanently closed in 2020, and 87% of full-service restaurants reported an average 36% drop in revenue. 3 These figures prove restaurant operators need help to boost their top line and cut costs as they adapt to intense rivalry and shifting market conditions.
During the pandemic, many consumers have embraced home for health or financial reasons or a creative outlet. Although 55% of consumers have been eating at home more often since the pandemic began, 65% say they are tired of cooking at home. 4
Fortunately, consumers are in a celebratory mood. Last year, Mother’s Day was a top sales day, as consumer spending at restaurants soared 103% on Mother’s Day Sunday and 63% on Saturday. 5 Restaurants can relieve consumers of the chore of cooking and add variety to dining occasions like Mother’s Day.
Successful restaurants gain a digital data advantage
To satisfy consumers’ needs and outplay rivals, restaurants now turn to data analytics from DataWeave to protect their profitability with effective pricing, menu and promotion decisions.
Pricing analytics
Restaurant operators can optimize their pricing to stay competitive. For instance, restaurants can compare their offerings and delivery fees with those of rivals to pinpoint and fill any gaps. Monitoring rivals’ pricing moves also helps restaurant operators stay flexible by keeping their prices affordable, so they can attract online sales growth.
Menu analytics
To minimize costs, more restaurants are streamlining their menus. Menu analytics can help operators spot the optimal mix of bestselling items and emerging food trends, like plant-based, vegan, gluten-free and local sourcing. To know which items to keep, operators can even use data insights on menu items down to the ZIP code level to localize their offerings and adapt to diverse tastes to drive online sales.
Promotion analytics
As consumers embrace home entertaining this Mother’s Day, restaurant operators can use data insights to boost sales. They can monitor rivals’ moves and compare their promotional strategies with those of competitors. Evaluating their digital marketing performance (like their brand’s discoverability and visibility ranking on food apps’ homepages) helps restaurants show up more prominently online and sell more.
Savvy restaurants welcome celebrations as lucrative sales occasions
Restaurants can spice up Mom’s life by letting her relax and receive the gifts of tasty meals, time savings and family festivities. Operators can simplify Mother’s Day celebrations by giving consumers a hassle-free dining experience so families can focus on connecting rather than cooking.
For a business advantage, restaurant operators can apply digital marketing insights to boost their agility in responding to consumers’ needs and rivals’ moves.
To stay agile and competitive as the food delivery market booms, leading restaurant chains and food delivery providers are collaborating with DataWeave to make data-driven pricing, menu and promotional decisions that fuel online sales.
1 Retail Holiday and Seasonal Trends: Mother’s Day. NRF. 2021
2 New Study Shows What Moms Really Want On Mother’s Day. US Foods. May 2020.
3 Valinsky, Jordan. 10,000 of America’s restaurants have closed in the past three months. CNN. December 9, 2020.
4 Contreras, Tricia. How the pandemic is shaping home cooking trends. SmartBrief. September 30, 2020.
5 Lalley, Heather. Despite pandemic, Mother’s Day was huge for restaurants. Restaurant Business. May 18, 2020.