We asked 45 US consumers how they decide where to eat and what they order once they get there. They answered on video, in their own words, in about twenty-one hours.
What came back was not the story the category has been telling itself.
What’s Inside
- Why the real competitor is not another restaurant but the customer’s own kitchen
- The four-part test consumers run on every menu item before they order
- Why spending is up and visits are down at the same time, and why a survey question alone would have missed it
- Which menu categories are exposed to home cooking, and which are protected
- Five distinct groups that emerged from the data, and how each one’s decision actually unfolds
- A full section on where our own evidence contradicts us
Method
45 US consumers. Seven open-ended video questions. Fielded 6 to 7 April 2026 on the Voxpopme platform. Qualitative and directional, with the sample and its limitations stated on page three rather than buried at the back.
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