In a heavy value environment, loyalty is harder to come by

One of the recurring topics of conversation during last week’s Restaurant Leadership Conference is how much the definition of “value” has changed for consumers. Unlike the Great Recession, in which the Dollar Menu was the industry standard, value against a relentless inflationary environment is now defined more holistically.

Consumers want their meals to be worth it, and to be something they can’t duplicate at home. That means price, service, culinary, experience, music, everything wrapped together and tied with a pretty bow.

No question that is easier said than done, however. Shiny low-price points, as we’ve seen proliferate for nearly two years now, can create a short-term solution to muted traffic and pressure competition to follow suit.

But it can also create long-term issues not only on the margins, but because customers who are just chasing the best deals aren’t necessarily loyalists.

Indeed, loyalty among diners has been decreasing as the value environment persists. According to new data from restaurant commerce platform Tillster, 45% of consumers said their favorite restaurant has changed in the last year. That is a sharp increase from 2025, when one-third of diners said the same, indicating that restaurants can no longer rely on being the “go-to” to secure repeat visits.

Perhaps ironically, this affinity is declining as the actual number of loyalty programs and usage both increase. According to a recent survey from William Blair, 71% of respondents actively participated in a loyalty program in March.

We’ve seen a host of loyalty introductions and iterations in recent months, from CAVA to Pizza Hut to Chipotle. But those programs, whether they include gamification, exclusivity or other incentives, still might not be enough to lure customers away from their own kitchens, particularly since restaurant prices have outpaced grocery prices for 36 months in a row, according to Kalinowski Equity Research.

Such luring now requires the balance of price, experience and innovation. This is how Taco Bell North America President Meg Farren, KFC U.S. President Catherine Tan-Gillespie and Habit Burger & Grill CEO Shannon Hennessy described their respective companies’ approach to value during a panel at RLC.

Daniella Senior, founder and CEO of Washington, D.C.-based Colada Shop, pushed the definition a bit further.

“It’s about music, hospitality, vibe, experience, consistency. That’s what will keep the industry alive,” she said. “Customers need to feel special, that they can’t duplicate their experience at home and that it’s worth it.”

Not only do they want to feel like their meal-away-from-home is worth it, they want to know what to expect. Jean Hagan, partnerat restaurant consulting firm EisnerAmper, said it is critical in an inflationary environment to stick to the concept while maintaining a consistent product and service.

“That’s what sees restaurants through bad times. The ones that are jumping all over the place, adding nonsense to their menus or 24-hour happy hours, they end up washing out in the end,” she said. “You’ve got to be true to who you are and if you’re delivering the right product, service, environment for guests, you’ll get through it. But if you start being crazy, serving breakfast or adding a bunch of new things to the menu, it’s going to be confusing, and it will be chaos.”

Tillster’s 2026 Phygital Index Report illustrates why consistency and experience are important — 69% of diners have decreased or maintained their dining-out budgets due to economic conditions and they are more discerning in how and where they choose to dine out. While price remains a consideration, the data shows that diners are placing more emphasis on the overall experience, with food quality (45%), convenience (44%) and speed (34%) as the top three factors when diners decide where to eat.