8 psychological tricks in restaurant menu

Restaurant menu – not just a list of dishes. It is formed by professionals who strictly make sure that it corresponds to the style of the restaurant and easily read. And most importantly, contributed to the growth of profit. Journalist Jessica Hallinger revealed several tricks with which restaurants try to influence the fact that you will order.

In order not to become a victim of manipulations during lunch or dinner in a cafe and rely only in your taste, you need to understand what tricks the menu compilers resort to. So what are they doing?

1. Limit the options for choice

When compiling an effective menu, the theory called the "Paradox of Choice" is taken into account. Its essence is that the more choice options, the more we worry, making a decision. The ideal number of options is 7 for each category, that is, 7 options for snacks, 7 options for the main dishes, and so on.

“If we turn on more options, the guests will begin to get confused and then, most likely, they will order a standard dish that we have already tried earlier,” says Gregg Rapp menu, the menu. There is nothing wrong with giving preference to acquaintances and proven options, but a well-composed menu can encourage visitors to try something new, more expensive.

Some restaurants began to forget about this rule. For example, McDonald’s initially offered only a few dishes, but now their number reaches 140. However, for example, in the first quarter of 2015, the company’s profit fell by 11%.

“Complicating the menu, we only torment the guests,” says Aaron Allen restaurant consultant, “as a result, they leave the restaurant unsatisfied. This is partly due to the fact that they begin to doubt-maybe it was worth ordering something else?"

And if they did not really like dinner or dinner, they are unlikely to come here again. Given that regular customers bring to restaurants an average of 70% of their income, the main goal of any institution is to make the visitor want to return.

2. Add photos

If the menu is illustrated by beautiful photos of dishes, visitors order an average of 30% more.

An experiment was conducted at the University of Iowa: https://globalpharmacy24.com/drug/zhewitra the children who showed the image of the salad 70% more often ordered it for lunch. “We react to the image of the dish the same as if it lay in front of us on a plate. If you are hungry, then the reaction will be: “I will order what is in the picture,” says the associate professor of the Brian Menneke information systems.

This effect is more manifested if the image is animated – for example, rotates. Some fast food restaurants begin to introduce similar technologies in themselves. “The brighter the picture looks in terms of movement, color and realism, the stronger it affects visitors,” says Menneke.

Modelity is needed here. “Excess photos on the menu is associated with visitors with cheap institutions. Higher class restaurants try not to include them in the menu at all, so as not to violate the respectable image, ”Aaron Allen explains.

3. Try to make prices not catch your eye

Another way to encourage guests to leave more money in the restaurant is to make the price tags in the menu as inconspicuous as possible. “We got rid of the dollar sign, because it causes unpleasant emotions, reminding visitors that they spend money,” says Aaron Allen. For example, the price of a club sandwich is indicated in the menu not “$ 12.00”, but “12.00” or even just “12”.

The study of the University of Kornel showed that prices indicated by words, for example, “Twelve dollars” also encourage visitors to spend more.

“The format that indicates prices sets the tone of the restaurant. The price of $ 9.95 looks more friendly than $ 10, which looks slightly defiant ".

One of the errors in compiling the menu is dashed lines from the name of the dish to the price. “This format was invented before the appearance of a modern printing press. This was done so that the page looks correctly designed. But what happens as a result? The visitor first looks at the right side of the page where the prices are indicated, and only then looks to the left, studying that it is possible to order cheaper, ”says Allen.

Solution? Indicate the prices not from the side, but below the description of the dish, exactly the same font so that they do not catch the eye.

4. Insert expensive "baits" in the menu

Everything is known in comparison. One of the tricks is to add a very expensive dish to the beginning of the list, compared to which everything else will seem quite affordable. Your waiter actually does not expect that you will order a lobster for $ 300, but compared to it, the steak for $ 70 seems inexpensive, is it not true?

Another technique is to highlight the most profitable dishes for the restaurant or in some other way, this attracts attention

Dishes at a slightly overstated price, but not going beyond the fact that the visitor is ready to pay, seem better. As a result, guests leave the restaurant with full and satisfied. In one experiment, two subjects of subjects were offered the same Swedish table, only in the first case it cost $ 4, and in the second – $ 8. Although the food in both cases was exactly the same, those who paid more appreciated it as more tasty.

5. Direct your attention in the right direction

In supermarkets, especially profitable goods are placed on shelves at about eye level. Similarly, restaurants make up the menu so that certain dishes attract the look. Gregg Rapp explains that the most “golden” place is the right upper corner.

“When we look, for example, on an empty sheet of paper or a magazine page, we first glance at the right upper corner. They try to indicate dishes that bring the restaurant the greatest profit. On the left, we place snacks, and under them – salads. It is important that the menu read well ".

Another trick-to highlight the most profitable dishes for the restaurant or in some other way-this attracts attention.

6. Use color design

According to Aaron Allen, the use of different colors allows you to cause certain emotions among visitors and influence their behavior. “Blue color has a calming effect and is often used for this purpose,” he says.

Often restaurants use red and yellow in their corporate identity. According to some studies, red stimulates appetite, and yellow attracts attention. “A combination of these two colors is better suited for food dyes,” Allen explains.

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