ARTICLE | Adding Science to Menu Design

Allow me to set the scene, it will be a familiar one:

You walk into a restaurant with a friend and dutifully stand beside the sign which instructs you to wait to be seated. You catch the eye of a member of the waiting staff and they pick you up and, on the way, they collect a couple of copies of the main menu, specials menu and drinks menu and you sit down.

You’re catching up with your friend while scanning the numerous menus you were given and before you know it, you’re staring up at the waiter who seated you only a few minutes ago. They are eagerly awaiting your order, pencil and notepad in-hand; problem is, you have not decided what you want to order.

Suddenly, your brain triggers an automatic response behaviour which raises your heart rate and makes you feel, what can best be described as, flustered! This is a fascinating glimpse into the instinctive behavioural tendencies of the human brain and is described, in menu design terms as, 'decision delay distress'. You may not even register this reaction as we experience these situations everyday, but in the context of menu design, decision delay distress can lead to:

·      Poor decision making

·      Physiological distress

·      Poor experience

·      Negative outlook

·      Spending less

·      Not returning to the restaurant

109 seconds to influence a decision

The average menu dwell-time in a restaurant setting is 109 seconds. By todays standards, this is a really long time as we know that 40% of people will give up on a website if it takes longer than 3 seconds to load. 109 seconds is quite a luxury and, when you also bear in mind that everyone in your restaurant will at some point look at the menu, some of the clever people behind restaurant branding have taken advantage of this unique and valuable opportunity by throwing everything they have space for on the menu; brand story, social media links, offers, partnerships, pictures, you name it! And if there isn’t space, simply make the menu bigger.

The Choice Paradox 

Barry Schwartz writes in The Paradox of Choice explaining the misconception that more choice automatically results in a better outcome for the consumer. In reality, more choice ultimately leads to:

·      Regret

·      Self-blame

·      Opportunity cost

·      Escalation of expectations

Numerous experiments have confirmed this theory. For example in 2000, psychologists Sheena Iyengar and Mark Lepper from Columbia and Stanford University published a study about jams. On a regular day at a food market, customers were presented with a display of 24 different varieties of jam. Then on another day, at that same food market, customers were given only 6 different varieties of jam to choose from. On both occasions they were also presented with a $1 voucher for jam as a further incentive to purchase from the display.

The results were fascinating and not necessarily what you would expect. Customers who were presented with only 6 varieties of jam were 10 times more likely to purchase! Only 3% of sales were converted from the 24 varieties versus 30% conversion rate on 6 varieties.

Reduced choice can boost sales and consumer confidence 

We know that reducing choice can boost sales but there are numerous other advantages to scaling back on choice. Operationally, there are obvious efficiencies and savings to be made from a menu with less complexity and skill requirement. The consumer also perceives an added level of specialism when you keep your offering to a specific selection or cuisine. Diners will automatically assume that if you only make pizza, for example, you must be very confident in your pizza’s to not offer anything else.

A rich brand story is always made more powerful when the subject matter is pointed, clear and without dilution. It is easier to communicate this story with confidence and have consumers buy into it if it’s simple. 

Colours have feelings

Or more accurately, we attach feelings and psychological responses to colours. There is a very good reason why the majority of the most successful food brands you can think of all use red, orange or yellow. These colours are all appetite boosters. Using these colours on the menu will increase the profitability of the menu over colours which are considered appetite suppressants such as blue, grey and purple. Green is a great way to communicate healthy, plant-based dishes. You can use this knowledge to vary your offering and menus throughout the year. Which are your best-selling items in the summer? If it’s salads and healthier items, you might want to consider changing the colours on the menu to reflect this.

Print quality, paper stock and finish

Have you ever visited a restaurant where they use a coated menu, usually matt laminate, for their ‘wipe-clean’ qualities and yet, they are sticky, marked, peeling or just covered in someone else’s meal? This is due to the fact that ‘wipe-clean’ menus are NEVER wiped-clean. Using a laminated menu gives the impression that the menu itself and its contents are not often changed and therefore not as fresh as a restaurant with a regular rotation of dishes. The cleanliness of the restaurant is also brought into question if they are dirty and there are environmental issues attributed to using a laminate on the menu which diners can pick up on. Consumers are increasingly aware of their own impact on the environment and want their preferred brands to mirror this concern and awareness. A recycled paper stock suggests a kindness and consideration for the impact of the restaurant on their surroundings and this, in-turn, reflects a perceived kindness for the customer. This is a more powerful way to communicate the right kind of brand story and intention than a paragraph about sustainability on the menu; actions speak louder than words.

A guided journey is easier to navigate

If you take your diners on a guided journey through the menu, you’re more likely to get them to their destination (their chosen dish) much quicker. The best way to do this is by keeping the number of pages and columns to a minimum. Eye tracking research from a number of studies has shown us that the top right section of a menu is generally considered the premium space for positioning higher margin dishes as this is the area diners spend the most dwell-time. Consider the layout of the menu more like a trip around Ikea, you want to ensure the route is clear and everyone is going the same way even if they speed-walk through the seafood section!

Photography on the menu? 

What is the meaning of life? Do aliens exist? When will the world end? None of these questions have been asked more times than; Should I put photographs on my restaurant menu?

Ignoring this slight exaggeration, the answer is subjective, and my opinion should be taken with that in mind at all times. I do not believe photographs on the menu enhance the customer journey or ease the decision-making process, but they are proven, in some cases, to increase the sale of the dish in the photograph. I’ll leave that one with you.

Quick tips

·      Lowercase fonts are easier to read

·      Serif fonts create a line under the text making them easier to follow on longer lines of text

·      Too many symbols and a large key can be confusing and lead to a decision distress

·      Avoid using £ symbols and don’t list the price in a row down the left side of each section

·      Use .99 pricing due to left number bias

·      Look at your restaurant environment and ensure your menu can be read easily

·      Keep the puddings off the main menu

·      Create a space near the top of the menu for the most popular dishes

If you want to know more or conduct a full review of your menu suite, I am on hand to help.