{"id":721,"date":"2015-04-27T06:23:56","date_gmt":"2015-04-27T13:23:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/re-tales.net\/?p=721"},"modified":"2015-04-27T06:23:56","modified_gmt":"2015-04-27T13:23:56","slug":"8-psychological-tricks-of-restaurant-menus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/re-tales.net\/?p=721","title":{"rendered":"8 Psychological Tricks of Restaurant Menus"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a0I’ve always been fascinated by the psychology part of retail. \u00a0I was always taught that if you have two sizes of an item, the bigger size always goes on the right (smaller—>bigger) and while it seemed logical for some reason, it made more sense when you realize that most people are right-handed so they tend to reach for the item on the right. \u00a0Bigger size=bigger profit. \u00a0Of course there’s plenty of reasons why stores are laid out in a particular way, but it also pertains to menus as well. \u00a0 \u00a0Remember some of these and see if it pertains to the menu at your favorite restaurant the next time you eat there.<\/p>\n

A restaurant\u2019s menu is more than just a random list of dishes. It has likely been strategically tailored at the hands of a menu engineer or consultant to ensure it’s on-brand, easy to read, and most importantly, profitable. Here are a few ways restaurants use their menus to influence what you\u2019re having for dinner.<\/em><\/p>\n

1. THEY LIMIT YOUR OPTIONS<\/em><\/h4>\n

The best menus account for the psychological theory<\/a> known as the \u201cparadox of choice<\/a>,\u201d which says that the more options we have, the more anxiety we feel. The golden number? Seven options per food category, tops (seven appetizers, seven entrees, etc.). \u201cWhen we include over seven items, a guest will be overwhelmed and confused, and when they get confused they\u2019ll typically default to an item they\u2019ve had before,\u201d says menu engineer Gregg Rapp<\/a>. No shame in sticking with what you know, but a well-designed menu might entice you to try something a bit different (and a bit more expensive).<\/em><\/p>\n

Some restaurants have lost sight of this rule. For example, McDonald\u2019s initially served\u00a0just a few<\/a> items but now offers more than 140<\/a>. Yet the chain’s revenue fell by <\/a>11\u00a0percent<\/a>\u00a0in the first quarter of 2015. \u201cAs we complicate menus, what we\u2019re actually doing is tormenting the guest,\u201d says restaurant consultant Aaron Allen<\/a>. \u201cWhen the guest leaves they feel less satiated, and part of it comes down to a perception that they might have made the wrong choice.\u201d If you leave with a bad taste in your mouth, you\u2019re less likely to come back. And in an industry where repeat customers account for about 70 percent<\/a> of sales, getting diners to return is the ultimate goal.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

2. THEY ADD PHOTOS<\/em><\/h4>\n

Including a nice-looking picture alongside a food item increases sales by 30 percent, according to Rapp. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

In one Iowa State University study<\/a>, researchers tested a digital display of a salad on kids at a YMCA camp. Campers who saw the salad photo were up to 70 percent more likely to order a salad for lunch. \u201cYou respond to the image on the display like you would respond to a plate in front of you,\u201d said<\/a> Brian Mennecke, an associate professor of information systems. \u201cIf you\u2019re hungry you respond by saying, \u2018I\u2019ll have what\u2019s in that picture.\u2019\u201d This effect is even more powerful when it comes to digital signs that move or rotate, which fast food restaurants arebeginning to implement<\/a>. \u201cThe more vivid the image, in terms of movement, color and accuracy of representation, the more realistic, the more it\u2019s going to stimulate your response to it,\u201d Mennecke said.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Of course, you can have too much of a good thing. \u201cIf you crowd too many photos, it starts to cheapen the perception of the food,\u201d Allen says. \u201cThe more items that are photographed on the menu, the guest perception is of a lower quality.\u201d Most high-end restaurants avoid photos to maintain a perceived level of fanciness.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

3. THEY MANIPULATE PRICES<\/em><\/h4>\n

One way to encourage you to spend more money is by making price tags as inconspicuous as possible. \u201cWe get rid of dollar signs because that\u2019s a pain point,\u201d says Allen. \u201cThey remind people they\u2019re spending money.\u201d Instead of $12.00 for that club sandwich, you\u2019re likely to see it listed as 12.00, or even just 12. One Cornell University<\/a> study found that written-out prices (\u201ctwelve dollars\u201d) also encourage guests to spend more. \u201cYour pricing format will set the tone of the restaurant,\u201d says Rapp. \u201cSo $9.95 I\u2019ve found is a friendlier price than a $10, which has attitude to it.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Dotted lines leading from the menu item to its price are a cardinal sin of menu design. \u201cThat menu was introduced before modern typesetting,\u201d says Allen. \u201cIt was a way of keeping the page looking properly formatted, but what happens is the guest reads down the right side of the menu and then looks to the left to see what the lower price point can afford them.\u201d The solution? \u201cNested\u201d pricing<\/a>, or listing the price discretely after the meal description in the same size font, so your eyes just glide right over it.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

4. THEY USE EXPENSIVE DECOYS<\/em><\/h4>\n

On menus, perspective is everything. One trick is to include an incredibly expensive item near the top of the menu, which makes everything else seem reasonably priced. Your server never expects you to actually order that $300 lobster, but it sure makes the $70 steak look positively thrifty, doesn\u2019t it?<\/em><\/p>\n

Slightly more expensive items (so long as they still fall within the boundaries of what the customer is willing to pay) also suggest the food is of higher quality. This pricing structure can literally make customers feel more satisfied when they leave. For example, one study<\/a> gave participants an $8 buffet or a $4 buffet. While the food was exactly the same, the $8 buffet was rated as tastier.<\/em><\/p>\n

5. THEY PLAY WITH YOUR EYES<\/em><\/h4>\n

Just like supermarkets<\/a> put profitable items at eye level, restaurants design their menus to make the most of your gaze. The upper right corner is prime real estate, Rapp explains. \u201cThe upper right is where a person will go on a blank sheet of paper or in a magazine,\u201d he says. That\u2019s where the most profitable items usually go. \u201cThen we build the appetizers on the upper left and salads underneath that. You want to keep the menu flowing well.\u201d \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Another trick is to create space around high-profit items by putting them in boxes or otherwise separating them from the rest of the options. \u201cWhen you put in a pocket of negative space, you pull the eye there,\u201d writes<\/a> Allen. \u201cPutting negative space around an item can call attention to it and help you sell it.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

6. THEY UTILIZE COLORS<\/em><\/h4>\n

According to Allen, different colors help conjure feelings and \u201cmotivate\u201d behavior. \u201cBlue is a very soothing color, so often times it is used to create a calming effect,\u201d he says. And have you ever noticed the number of restaurants that utilize red and yellow in their branding? Conclusive evidence on how color affects our mood is hard to find, but one review<\/a> suggests that red stimulates the appetite, while yellow draws in our attention. \u201cThe two combined are the best food coloring pairings,\u201d Allen says.<\/em><\/p>\n

7. THEY USE FANCY LANGUAGE<\/em><\/h4>\n

Longer, more detailed descriptions sell more food. Nearly 30 percent more, according to one Cornell study<\/a>. \u201cThe more copy you write on the menu item, the less it costs in a customer\u2019s mind because you\u2019re giving them more for their money,\u201d explains Rapp. So plain old \u201cchocolate pudding\u201d becomes \u201csatin chocolate pudding.\u201d Customers also rated the more thoroughly described food as tasting better.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople taste what you tell them they\u2019re tasting,\u201d Rapp says. Consider this: In another study<\/a>, researchers presented two different groups with the same red wine but with different labels. One label said North Dakota (do they even make wine<\/a> there?), the other said California. In taste tests, the \u201cCalifornia\u201d wine squarely defeated the \u201cNorth Dakota\u201d wine even though both groups’ glasses were filled with\u00a0\u201cTwo-Buck Chuck\u201d<\/a>. Also, \u201cthose who believed they had been drinking California wine ate 12% more of their meal than those who instead believed they drank North Dakota wine.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Adjectives like \u201cline-caught,\u201d \u201cfarm-raised,\u201d or \u201clocally-sourced\u201d are big turn-ons for customers. \u201cThese things all help increase perception of quality of the item,\u201d Allen says. This verbiage is so effective that many states have \u201cTruth in Menu\u201d<\/a> laws designed to prevent restaurants from lying about things like how a piece of meat was raised or where it originated. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

8. THEY MAKE YOU FEEL NOSTALGIC<\/em><\/h4>\n

We all have that one meal that takes us back to childhood. Restaurants know this tendency, and they use it to their advantage. \u201cAlluding to past time periods can trigger happy memories of family, tradition, and nationalism,\u201d one study<\/a> says. \u201cCustomers sometimes like the feeling of tasting something wholesome and traditional because \u2018They sure don\u2019t make \u2018em like they used to.\u2019\u201d Keep that in mind the next time you\u2019re tempted to order \u201cGrandma\u2019s Chicken Soup.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

from mental floss.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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\u00a0 \u00a0I’ve always been fascinated by the psychology part of retail. \u00a0I was always taught that if you have two sizes of an item, the bigger size always goes on the right (smaller—>bigger) and while it seemed logical for some reason, it made more sense when you realize that most people are right-handed so they Read More…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-721","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-retail-trends"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=721"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":727,"href":"http:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/721\/revisions\/727"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=721"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=721"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/re-tales.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=721"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}