business
Consumer Brand Metrics Q3 2015
Eater Archetypes: Brand usage and preferences by consumer segment
The restaurant industry has long relied on demographic factors to
identify and prioritize consumer groups. For example, many
brands currently obsess over attracting Millennials—some
without pausing to consider the variations among consumers
within this demographic cohort. In addition to life stages,
consumer attitudes about health, value, convenience and the
overall role of foodservice in their lives drive significant
differences in preferences and behavior.
With these distinctions in mind, we have updated the Consumer
Brand Metrics (CBM) survey with questions that allow us to
segment consumers into one of seven Eater Archetypes. Each
segment has a distinct psychographic profile, which is outlined in
our recent Consumer Foodservice Landscape. Accordingly, their
patronage of the segments and brands tracked in CBM varies.
This paper explores some differences we can discern after the
initial quarterly results, including the archetypes’ segment usage,
brand patronage and occasion dynamics. Examining CBM data by
Eater Archetype reveals nuances that complement a demographic
profile of a chain’s guests.
By Colleen Rothman, Manager, Consumer Insights
To learn more about the Consumer Brand Metrics program or to sign up for future Spotlight by Consumer Brand Metrics white papers, please contact Bart Henyan, Senior Marketing Manager, at bhenyan@technomic.com.
Consumer Brand Metrics Q3 2015
Segmenting consumers by psychographic factors, rather than
just demographic characteristics, can lead to a better
understanding of the consumers that matter to your brand and
how to appeal to them.
Key Takeaways
Busy Balancers and Functional Eaters drive usage across restaurants and convenience stores. Full-service restaurant (FSR) operators may also consider targeting Foodservice Hobbyists and Affluent Socializers, as these archetypes comprise more than a quarter of FSR patrons, on average.
How does foodservice segment usage vary by archetype?
Driven by unique needs and motivations, Eater Archetypes gravitate to a wide variety of brands. For example, McDonald’s, Burger King and Whataburger each disproportionately attract unique archetypes (Habitual Matures, Bargain Hunters and Functional Eaters, respectively).
Which chains do each archetype visit most frequently?
Archetypes that patronize the same restaurant may not use the brand the same way. For example, usage varies by daypart, with afternoon snacks skewing to Busy Balancers and late-night meals driven by Functional Eaters. Archetypes also diverge in their party composition, as visits with children skew to Busy Balancers.
Which archetypes drive specific occasions?
Consumer Brand Metrics Q3 2015
Foodservice Patronage
Eater Archetype Distribution (once a month+ users)
Archetype LSR Avg. FSR Avg. C-Store Avg. RMS Avg.
Busy Balancers 27.3% 30.4% 26.6% 17.8%
Functional Eaters 23.0 21.7 23.8 22.1
Affluent Socializers 12.9 15.1 9.8 13.3
Foodservice Hobbyists 11.6 12.5 14.7 18.9
Health Enthusiasts 10.7 8.8 11.4 13.1
Bargain Hunters 9.5 8.0 8.8 8.6
Habitual Matures 5.0 3.6 4.8 6.2
Busy Balancers and Functional Eaters drive monthly usage of restaurants and convenience stores. On average, roughly half of consumers who visit these locations at least monthly are either Busy Balancers or Functional Eaters, reinforcing both groups as key consumer segments for foodservice brands. These groups, the heaviest users of foodservice overall, rely on a variety of restaurants and retailers to fuel their busy, on-the-go lifestyles.
Affluent Socializers and Foodservice Hobbyists, who use foodservice slightly less often, are also important cohorts to reach. They are especially critical for FSRs, as they comprise more than a quarter of FSR patrons, on average. The FSR environment meets these consumers’ needs in different ways, allowing Affluent Socializers to connect with others in an upscale environment and Foodservice Hobbyists to cultivate unique experiences through dining out.
These segment averages not only identify the priority consumer
targets for a foodservice segment, but also provide valuable
benchmarking for the archetype distribution of specific chains.
Consumer Brand Metrics Q3 2015
Foodservice Patronage
LSR Chain Skews (% of chain’s once a month+ visitors, indexed against LSR average)
Top LSR Index
Busy Balancers Pinkberry 154
Functional Eaters Whataburger 127
Affluent Socializers Panera Bread 133
Foodservice Hobbyists Panera Bread 143
Health Enthusiasts Subway 145
Bargain Hunters Burger King 143
Habitual Matures McDonald’s 196
Even within a single restaurant segment, patronage varies widely by Eater Archetype. Some chains attract a disproportionate share of consumers from one group, and the strongest LSR chain skews for each archetype are noted below. With the exception of Panera Bread, whose monthly user base includes larger-than- average proportions of Affluent Socializers and Foodservice Hobbyists, the chain skews differ for each archetype. Functional Eaters, Bargain Hunters and Habitual Matures gravitate to different burger chains, while Health Enthusiasts make up a greater percentage of Subway’s monthly users than any other LSR.
Brand usage doesn’t just vary by demographics. Uncovering the
psychographic profile of your brand’s customers helps you to tap into
the unique needs, motivations and drivers for your brand.
Consumer Brand Metrics Q3 2015
Occasion Skews
When asking each archetype to describe their most recent visit to a restaurant chain, the details of the occasion differ by group and across segments. Some dayparts, such as afternoon and late-night snacks, skew to one group in particular. Additionally, while Affluent Socializers and Foodservice Hobbyists skew to similar occasions, the traffic patterns of Habitual Matures strongly diverge from both of these groups.
Daypart visited Most recent occasion, indexed against segment average
Breakfast
LSR
Lunch
P.M.
Snack
Dinner
Dessert
Only
Late Night
no skews Habitual Matures 131 Bargain Hunters 122 Health Enthusiasts 121
Affluent Socializers 108 Foodservice Hobbyists 106
Busy Balancers 119
Habitual Matures 115
Bargain Hunters 138 Affluent Socializers 115 Foodservice Hobbyists 115
Functional Eaters 117
Health Enthusiasts 112 Habitual Matures 106
Foodservice Hobbyists 105 Affluent Socializers 104
Functional Eaters 154
no skews
no skews
FSR
Even as a chain’s users generally skew to one or two specific
archetypes, the consumers it attracts throughout the day can vary.
Understanding which groups skew to each daypart can help
operators to optimize menu offerings and target promotions.
Consumer Brand Metrics Q3 2015
28% 28% 25% 20% 19% 19% 18% 16% 14%
21% 18% 16% 18% 18%
Functional Eaters
Habitual Matures
Busy Balancers
Health Enthusiasts
Affluent Socializers
Bargain Hunters
Foodservice Hobbyists
Alone Kids < 18
57%
56%
54%
53%
52%
50%
49%
21%
26%
22%
27%
26%
24%
28%
19%
15%
20%
18%
19%
23%
23%
3%
3%
4%
2%
3%
3%
0%
Bargain Hunters
Habitual Matures
Health Enthusiasts
Functional Eaters
Affluent Socializers
Foodservice Hobbyists
Busy Balancers
Impulse Routine Special Other
Occasion Skews
In terms of party composition, Eater Archetypes most differ when examining two types of occasions: solo visits and those with kids aged 17 and younger. While Functional Eaters and Habitual Matures are most likely to have recently visited a restaurant alone, Busy Balancers over-index on visits with children.
Party composition Most recent occasion
Reasons for visiting Most recent occasion
Filtering occasion data by Eater Archetype reveals the nuances in
their usage of your brand that will enhance your ability to cater to
their unique needs.
Each archetype’s reasons for their most recent visit also vary. Bargain Hunters and Habitual Matures drive impulse visits, while Busy Balancers and Functional Eaters are most likely to say they visited for a routine occasion. Special occasions skew to Foodservice Hobbyists and Busy Balancers.