Show me the money!
Our friends at the Center for Hospitality Research at Cornell University have found that the elimination of the $ on menu pricing has a measurable positive impact on guest spending. It appears guests spend more when the $ is left out of pricing. It appears the $ has an inhibiting affect on guest behavior.
If you are wondering, “It all sounds good, but isn’t this manipulating our guest?” Well, yes, that’s exactly what this is intended to accomplish. Funny though we all use POP materials to encourage spending and engagement with our products. There are few complaints when a menu price is expressed to the .99 place, and that is an equal measure to removing the $.
So, give it a try and see how it goes. If you sales increase even 1%, then it was worth implementing. Sometimes trends are good at all levels of our business and this is definitely a place to embrace the best practice.
More Restaurant Hacks:
Got a cool restaurant hack of your own? Let us know!