Menu is a marketing tool that should direct customer’s attention to the
items that restaurants want to sell most. Many menu researchers believe that
the attractiveness and power of influence of different positions on a menu are
not the same. But where is the best selling position?
Two researchers from Hebrew University, Dayan and Bar-Hillel, have conducted
a lab experiment and a real-world experiment examining the popularity of
different positions:
In their lab experiment,
4 types of menus were provided: a Base Menu; a Mirror Menu that reversed the
order within each category completely from first to last; an Inside-out Base
that put middle-position items to extreme positions; and Inside-out Mirror. By
such design, each item had an opportunity to be at first, middle or last
position. Then the popularity (order number) of each position was calculated
and compared. The real-world experiment was conducted in a cafe with the same
research method, although only Base menu and Inside-out Menu were provided due
to the business complexity.
Both experiments indicated that being the first or last within the
category are much more popular than being in the middle. More specifically, the
research found that placing menu items at the beginning or end of their
category are able to increase their popularity by about 20%.
Although this is not the only study on menu positions, it is one of the
few researches where the concept of position is emphasized to be within a
category rather than the whole menu. This is really significant. Many other
researches testing the selling power of a position are usually focusing on the
position within a whole menu regardless of the category of food placed on it.
However, a common knowledge of food ordering that we cannot ignore is that people
will find and choose the specific category of food (such as Salad, Entrees,
Dissert etc) no matter where it is positioned, while the items ordered within that
category might be flexible.
According to the finding of this study, a suggestion is given to
restaurants on menu design: Put the food you want to encourage at the first or bottom
of the menu listings within its category.
As for what items should be encouraged, well, most menu researchers would
recommend dishes that generate high profits or attract return customers. Besides,
signature dishes which can represent brand image to distinguish the restaurant
from its competitors should also be encouraged and placed at noticeable
positions. In addition to that, the author of this study showed a great
responsibility for public health, suggesting that healthier items should be
positioned at top or bottom and less healthier ones to be at center (eg.
sugared drinks vs. calorie-free drinks).
Dayan, E., & Bar-Hillel, M. (2011).
Nudge to nobesity II: Menu positions influence food orders. Judgment
and Decision Making, 6(4), 333-342.
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