---
title: "Study Finds Consumers Sticking with Drive-Thru Ordering"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/e95a951d-828d-45ce-b646-9b9e6a96fb7a
source: "Franchising.com"
original_url: https://www.franchising.com/articles/study_finds_consumers_sticking_with_drivethru_ordering.html
author: "Kerry Pipes"
category: "QSR"
industry: "Restaurants"
segment: "QSR"
topics: ["Operations"]
published: 2022-08-01T08:00:00.000Z
modified: 2026-10-31T20:35:26.942Z
image: https://imgs.franchising.com/art/articles/6948_plate.jpg
---

# Study Finds Consumers Sticking with Drive-Thru Ordering

**TL;DR:** A study by Presto finds that consumers are sticking with drive-thru ordering, with nearly half of respondents saying they are more likely to order takeout, and 70% experiencing increased wait times. The study surveyed 243 US restaurant customers and found that technologies such as voice assistants and smartphone apps could help alleviate problems at the drive-thru.

*By Kerry Pipes, originally published in Franchising.com on 2022-08-01. [Read the original](https://www.franchising.com/articles/study_finds_consumers_sticking_with_drivethru_ordering.html).*

## Story

Dine-in is out and drive-thru is in, according to findings in a new “Pulse of the Industry” report by Presto. Dine-in closures became widespread during the pandemic, forcing many customers to turn to takeout, delivery, and drive-thru ordering. Even though inside dining has opened back up, the study finds only 25% of those surveyed more likely to use dine-in compared to last year.

Meanwhile, nearly half of the survey respondents (46%) said they are more likely to order takeout and only 22% are less likely to place drive-thru orders compared to a year ago. But the growing popularity of drive-thru ordering is increasing wait times and impacting service quality. Nearly two-thirds (70%) of the respondents said technologies such as A.

I. voice assistants, personalized menus, and smartphone apps could help alleviate problems at the drive-thru. Three-out-of-four (77%) said the quality of their drive-thru experience is the same or worse than last year.

27% said long wait time was the biggest issue and had gotten significantly worse over the past year. That was followed by friendliness of service, where 18% said it had become worse. The current survey had 243 respondents representing a cross-section of U.

S. restaurant customers accounting for different socio-demographic, economic, and lifecycle variables.

## Entities

- Franchising.com (publication)
- QSR (sector)
- Kerry Pipes (person)
- restaurant technology (topic)
- US (location)
- service quality (topic)
- Presto (company)
- drive-thru ordering (topic)
- takeout trends (topic)

---
Originally reported by Kerry Pipes, Franchising.com (https://www.franchising.com/articles/study_finds_consumers_sticking_with_drivethru_ordering.html). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/e95a951d-828d-45ce-b646-9b9e6a96fb7a).