Restaurant customer experience is shaped by practical details as much as memorable moments. Recent U.S. research shows that cleanliness, welcoming staff, responsiveness and speed rank highly, while digital ordering, loyalty programs and occasion-based dining create additional marketing touchpoints.
Contents
- What diners value in full-service restaurants
- How technology changes ordering and payment
- What delivery customers expect
- Why loyalty and personalization matter
- How occasions influence restaurant choice
- Generational differences in value and discovery
What diners value in full-service restaurants
The National Restaurant Association’s STATE OF THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY 2025 reports that 90% of consumers enjoy going to restaurants. That broad positive sentiment sits alongside specific expectations about the experience. The figures below are top-three rankings among adults who visited a tableservice restaurant in the past six months, not overall satisfaction scores.
Cleanliness was the leading factor: 73% ranked it among their top three experience considerations. Kind and welcoming staff followed at 48%, while 46% selected staff responsiveness to requests and needs. Another 46% ranked wait time for food, beverages and the check among their top three factors.
The remaining priorities show that the physical and social setting still matters. Comfortable tables and seating were selected by 35%, staff knowledge of food and beverages by 31%, and being in a place where other customers are enjoying themselves by 18%.
| Experience factor | Share ranking it in the top three |
|---|---|
| Cleanliness | 73% |
| Kind and welcoming staff | 48% |
| Staff responsiveness | 46% |
| Wait time for food, beverages and check | 46% |
| Comfortable tables and seating | 35% |
| Staff food and beverage knowledge | 31% |
| Other customers enjoying themselves | 18% |
The same 2025 report found a generational difference in the cleanliness ranking. It was a top-three factor for 65% of Gen Z adults who visited a tableservice restaurant in the past six months, compared with 75% of baby boomers in the same recent-visitor measure. For restaurant marketing, that makes operational proof—clean facilities, attentive service and clear timing—relevant content rather than an afterthought.
Source: STATE OF THE RESTAURANT INDUSTRY 2025, National Restaurant Association; 2025 report and past-six-month measures.
How technology changes ordering and payment
Technology preferences are strongest when they remove friction while preserving choice. In the National Restaurant Association’s RESTAURANT TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE REPORT 2024, 65% of adult consumers said they would be comfortable paying a full-service restaurant check with a computer tablet at the table. Separately, 70% said they would order ahead online at a tableservice restaurant, schedule an arrival time and receive food shortly after being seated.
Order-ahead interest was higher among younger adults in the report: 88% of Gen Z adults ages 18–27 said they would use online order-ahead service at a tableservice restaurant, compared with 84% of millennials ages 28–43.
Among customers who use limited-service restaurants, 70% said they would use a smartphone app to place an order and 65% said they would use an app to pay. The same group showed interest in self-service: 65% would order food using a self-service kiosk and 63% would pay with a self-service electronic kiosk. A live person via video screen was selected by 58%, while 57% would access a restaurant menu on a smartphone using a QR code.
Automation was less universally preferred in full-service settings. Among full-service restaurant customers, 37% said they would want food delivered to the table by automated systems or robots, and 29% said they would want food prepared by automated systems or robots. These are stated preferences, not observed adoption or evidence of causal effects.
For marketing teams, the data points to a service design question: which digital option makes the customer’s chosen occasion easier? A table tablet, order-ahead flow, QR menu or kiosk can support convenience, but the restaurant still needs to communicate what the option does and where human assistance remains available.
Source: RESTAURANT TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE REPORT 2024, National Restaurant Association; 2024 report. Technology figures are stated preferences, and bases vary by segment.
What delivery customers expect
Delivery creates a digital version of the restaurant experience, beginning before the food leaves the kitchen. Among consumers who ordered restaurant delivery in the past six months, 84% said they would order through a restaurant’s website and 80% through a smartphone app. Third-party services also remained important: 71% said they would likely order through a service such as DoorDash, Grubhub, Uber Eats or Postmates.
Payment expectations were similarly digital. Seventy-nine percent of delivery customers said they would use contactless or mobile payment options, while 73% said they would pay with a digital wallet such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Wallet, PayPal or Venmo. Voice ordering had a smaller but meaningful stated audience: 45% said they would likely use a voice-enabled platform such as Alexa, Google Home or Siri.
The app preference was not identical across generations. Among baby-boomer delivery customers ages 60–78, 59% said they would order delivery using a smartphone app. That figure describes baby boomers who ordered delivery in the past six months, not all baby boomers.
Customers also identified the experience improvements technology could provide. Thirty-three percent said technology would improve delivery by making ordering easier and faster. Twenty-four percent selected more accurate delivery times, and another 24% selected faster delivery. Nineteen percent said technology could improve packaging and allow a greater variety of food items for delivery.
Among limited-service customers, 36% said they would want food delivered by automated systems or robots and 30% said they would want food prepared by automated systems or robots. As with the other technology figures, these are preferences rather than observed behavior.
Source: RESTAURANT TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE REPORT 2024, National Restaurant Association; 2024 report and past-six-month delivery measures.
Why loyalty and personalization matter
Restaurant loyalty programs connect the experience after the visit with the next decision to order or dine in. The 2024 National Restaurant Association technology report found that 52% of adults currently participate in a loyalty or reward program at a restaurant, coffee shop, snack place or deli.
Among current restaurant loyalty-program participants, 96% said membership is a good way to get more value for their money. Access preferences were led by smartphone apps at 60%, while 18% preferred a physical card. Among prospective members—nonmembers who would join if their favorite restaurant offered a program—39% preferred a physical card when ordering. The share was 51% among prospective baby-boomer members ages 60–78.
The contrast suggests that a loyalty program’s value proposition and access method should be communicated separately. Members may appreciate an app for convenience, while prospective members may still want a physical option at the point of ordering. A restaurant can make the benefit clear without assuming every customer wants the same channel.
Operator plans show that restaurants were also prioritizing these tools. In 2024, 63% of restaurant operators planned to devote resources to digital or location-based marketing, and 57% planned to invest in loyalty or reward systems. These are operator plans, not measures of completed investment or program performance.
Source: RESTAURANT TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE REPORT 2024, National Restaurant Association; 2024 report.
How occasions influence restaurant choice
Restaurant experience is also shaped by the reason for the visit. OpenTable’s 4 food eras defining today’s diners used an online survey of 1,000 American consumers, with major cities weighted. The survey took place June 12–14, 2024, and the concert findings refer to the relevant subgroup.
Approximately 22% of diners prioritized more affordable dining options, while just over 10% across generations said they valued a unique dining experience. Nearly 20% of U.S. diners said they considered themselves to be in a wellness-focused dining phase. These measures describe different motivations and should not be treated as one ranking of every dining decision.
Concert-related dining illustrates how occasion marketing can change the value equation. Around 40% of diners said dining out was an important part of their concert-going experience, and 56% of concert-goers said they would spend more than usual at a restaurant when dining before an event. Among diners choosing a restaurant before a concert, 64% prioritized the cuisine offered and 63% prioritized proximity to the venue.
The format of the meal also varied within the concert-going group. Twenty-six percent chose fast food or food on the go to prioritize reaching the front of the stage. Twenty percent preferred sharing small plates because they were too excited to have a big meal, while another 20% chose hearty main courses to fuel their dancing. Among Gen Z diners attending concerts, 57% identified price point as the most important restaurant factor.
For restaurant marketers, these results support occasion-specific messaging: pre-event timing, venue proximity, menu format, price point and energy level can all be part of the experience promise.
Source: 4 food eras defining today’s diners, OpenTable; June 12–14, 2024 U.S. consumer survey. OpenTable’s figures are survey estimates for the stated groups.
Generational differences in value and discovery
Toast’s Gen Z And Millennial Food & Restaurant Trends [Data Study] reported results from a February 14–21, 2024 survey of U.S. restaurant guests ages 18 and older. Toast describes the survey as directional and not precise, so the figures are best used to identify differences in emphasis rather than to predict every customer.
Among respondents ages 27 and below, 26% said higher-quality menu items would most compel them to eat out more often. Among respondents ages 44 and older, 61% said more affordable menu items would most compel them to eat out more often. The contrast does not mean quality matters only to younger diners or price matters only to older diners; it shows which single improvement each group selected most often in this measure.
Storytelling also varied. Twenty-one percent of diners ages 24 and below showed interest in restaurant employee stories, compared with 4% of guests ages 55–64. For restaurants, employee stories may therefore be a discovery and brand-humanization asset for some audiences, but the data does not establish that such content causes visits.
Discovery itself was active: 39% of Toast survey respondents said they had recently ordered from a restaurant that was new to them. That figure supports keeping first-visit information easy to find, including the menu, price cues, ordering options and the experience a new guest can expect.
Source: Gen Z And Millennial Food & Restaurant Trends [Data Study], Toast; February 14–21, 2024 U.S. survey. Toast describes the results as directional and not precise.