The Business Situation
A national restaurant chain wanted to understand the real impact the economy was having on its guests, particularly lower-income Black and Hispanic customers who form a meaningful part of their customer base. Inflation had reshaped how families thought about food: what they bought, where they ate, and what they could afford.
The client had a clear brand promise: to support their guests. But in a period of financial strain, were they delivering on it? And if not, what would it take to get there? The decisions that followed this research would shape how the brand invested in its communities, communicated its value, and showed up for customers who needed it most.
The Business Question
We believe in our guests. But do they believe we’re still here for them?
The research needed to answer five questions:
- How has inflation changed what lower-income families can afford, both at the grocery store and dining out?
- How have dining habits and ordering behaviors shifted?
- Where are guests finding hope, and what role can a restaurant brand play in that?
- Do guests believe this restaurant is still delivering on its brand promise?
- And what specific actions could the restaurant take to better support customers during hard times?
Our Approach
Bringing the Research to Where Real Life Happens
To get close to real behavior, we designed a multi-step methodology to meet customers in their lives, in their decision-making, and inside the restaurant itself.
- Online Bulletin Board Focus Group (BBFG). A three-day asynchronous format formed the core of the design. Thirty respondents were recruited across six geographically diverse markets, reflecting the brand’s multi-regional presence. The sample included a mix of Black, Hispanic, and Caucasian participants, with a focus on lower-income households.
- Mobile ethnography. On day one, participants visited their local restaurant and documented the experience in real time: photographs of the restaurant, the food they ordered, and a brief video capturing their honest in-the-moment reaction. This gave the client unscripted, in-context consumer feedback no survey could replicate.
- Follow-up in-depth interviews. Six respondents were invited to participate in a 30-minute IDI, allowing the research team to probe the most important themes from their experiences.
What We Found
A Clear Picture of Pressure and Possibility
The research surfaced a candid portrait of how inflation had changed the way families thought about food. Guests described changes in visit frequency, types of restaurants visited, and what they ordered. Beyond spending patterns, the research captured how guests felt.
- Dignity and trust were at stake. The emotional weight of not being able to eat the way they wanted was real and present. Guests were talking about feeding their kids and whether the brands they had trusted still had their backs.
- The restaurant visits revealed actionable gaps. Direct, in-context feedback from participants’ actual visits gave the client granular evidence of where the experience was delivering and where it was falling short, in ways general sentiment data could never provide.
- Customers wanted to feel seen. Guests did not just want a deal. They wanted a brand that understood what they were going through. That distinction shaped every strategic recommendation that followed.
The Outcome
The client left with a clear, consumer-grounded direction for how to deliver on their brand promise in a way that would resonate. They knew how to drive more visits through offers and community engagement that spoke directly to what lower-income guests needed.
They understood which types of community involvement customers would see as genuine versus performative, a distinction that matters enormously when trust is the foundation of the relationship. Most importantly, they had evidence. Not internal assumptions.
That’s what it looks like when research illuminates the decisions in front of you.