Kids dictate dining out destination decisions

Almost a quarter of family visits to restaurants are dictated by the children.

That's according to new figures from the NPD Group, which researched the influence kids have on a family's choice of dining out destination.

The Dine Out Pester Power Scorecard revealed that "because my kids like it there" was one of the main reasons for consumers picking their chosen eating out venue in 24% of family visits.

Branded pub chains were found to be the type of establishment that most appeals to children (30% of family visits picked by kids), followed by the well-established fast-food outlets (29%), and the family-friendly casual dining outlets (28%).

Families make 3.18 billion eat-out visits in the year ending October 2014, of which more than 763 million were "let-the-kids-choose" visits, worth £4b each year.

Jack MacIntyre, NPD group account manager foodservice UK, said that "pester power" plays a huge role in where families choose to eat out.

"This may be surprising to some, as pester power is often associated with more obviously child-focused sectors such as toys or confectionary, but kids clearly have a very important voice in the dining out market too," he explained.

"Parents and kids find it especially attractive when they see kids' menus that are properly thought through, rather than simply offering smaller portions of the adult menu, and when there is an attractive family meal deal on offer too."

MacIntyre said that branded pubs in particular have found the right formula, which could pay dividends in the run up to Christmas.

"Kids enjoy the stimulating and lively atmosphere of the play areas, different types of seating, board games, music and televisions provided by many branded pubs," he explained. "It's paying off in terms of kids telling their parents that's where they want to eat out."

"Treating myself and/or the kids" was cited as a motivator in 16.8% of the over 11 billion eat-out visits recorded year ending October 2014, but this leaps to 27.9% when the eating out visits involve the family.

However, healthy eating was found to be less of a deciding factor, with the need for "something light and balanced" cited as a motivator in just 4.3% of family visits.

As such, the contrast between kids getting their own way on the choice of venue (24%/763 million family visits) and parents choosing a venue for their kids by thinking mainly about health (4.3%/138 million family visits) makes for a difference of some 625 million family visits a year.

Families are essential to Britain's eating out market, accounting for 28.8% of all visits and 31.9% of all sales. Overall the British foodservice market is worth £50.7b in sales annually with business from families worth £16.1b.