Reports: Late night holds significant opportunity for brands

Brands looking to attract more consumers, particularly younger customers in the prized Millennial demographic, might want to consider burning the midnight oil and extend their hours to offer late-night food and beverages, according to new consumer research from several firms. When asked for information on late-night traffic trends by 1851 Magazine, The NPD Group found that the after-dinner daypart has experienced robust growth in the past year. In an email to 1851 Magazine, Kim McLynn, director of public relations for Port Washington, N.Y.-based NPD Group’s foodservice division, shared the firm’s data that indicated restaurant traffic between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. increased 11 percent for the 12-month period ended August 2014, compared with the same period a year earlier. That increase compared to a 4-percent increase for the 12 months ended August 2013. The trend was not necessarily a seasonal bump, either, McLynn noted, citing a 12-percent increase in late-night traffic for the 12-month period that ended in April 2014 as well. According to another market research firm, Chicago-based Technomic Inc., consumers’ move toward more late-night dining has been a trend for several years. The firm will compile a follow-up study this winter to its last Dinner & Late-Night Consumer Trends Report published in 2011. In that prior study, Technomic found that more than one-third of restaurant patrons surveyed reported visiting a restaurant after 9 p.m. at least once a month. Among those respondents, the preference for late-night dining skewed younger. More than half of respondents 35 years old or younger said they went to restaurants between 9 p.m. and 3 a.m. several times per month. That compared to only one-quarter of consumers older than 35 responding similarly in the same survey. According to Technomic’s last study, one-third of 18-to-34-year-old consumers — the prime Millennial target for most restaurant brands — said they would visit restaurants late at night more often if those locations stayed open later, compared with only 16 percent of consumers 35 or older. Earlier this month, Technomic released its Dinner & Late-Night Consumer Trend Report for Canada, which senior consumer research manager Kelly Weikel said in an email to 1851 Magazine provides some overlap with the U.S. market. In that most recent study, 27 percent of Canadian consumers reported that they visit restaurants at least once a month for late-night snacks or drinks. Food was found to be as important as beverages in late-night occasions: 45 percent of Canadian consumers said they order appetizers and snacks for late-night restaurant visits.