The Psychology of Menu Design (and Digital Menu Tricks)

Your menu design is one of the most influential tools in shaping your restaurant’s guest experience and driving sales. It’s more than just listing dishes and prices—it’s about guiding diners to make choices that align with your business goals, whether that’s increasing the order value, showcasing signature dishes, or promoting seasonal specials. Understanding the psychology behind menu design and utilizing digital tools can make all the difference in maximizing revenue.

The Science Behind Menu Choices

Guests often make decisions quickly when scanning a menu, and subtle design elements can significantly influence their choices. The following principles help guide these decisions:

• Primacy and Recency Effect: Items placed at the top or bottom of a menu section are more likely to be noticed and chosen. This phenomenon occurs because these positions are where guests' eyes naturally linger, either when they first open the menu or when they're finishing their choices. Use these prime spots to showcase high-margin items or your best sellers.
• Decoy Effect: A clever pricing strategy involves introducing a slightly higher-priced option to make other dishes appear more reasonably priced in comparison. For example, if you offer a $14.99 dish next to a $19.99 dish, customers are more likely to choose the $14.99 dish because it appears to be a better value. This strategy works to your advantage when applied to high-margin items that you'd like to sell more of.
• Descriptive Labels: Words matter when it comes to pricing and perceived value. Vivid, sensory-rich descriptions can make a dish more enticing and increase its perceived value. Instead of saying “Chicken Sandwich,” try “Grilled Free-Range Chicken Sandwich with Avocado, Caramelized Onions, and Chipotle Aioli.” The wording enhances the appeal and can elevate the dish’s perceived value.

For more insights on how these principles impact consumer decisions, you can read more on Psychology Today.

Digital Menu Advantages

Digital menus offer a wide array of possibilities for applying psychological principles, enhancing visuals, and boosting operational efficiency:

• Dynamic Highlighting: Digital menus allow you to rotate featured dishes based on seasonality, popularity, or profit margins. For example, you can highlight a seasonal dish during its prime and rotate in specials during holidays or festivals to keep the menu fresh and exciting.
• Visual Appeal: High-quality images of dishes can influence customer choices by stimulating their appetite and creating a stronger connection with the food. By showcasing the food in an attractive and appetizing way, you increase the likelihood of diners choosing higher-priced or specialty items. Learn more about effective food photography with RocketPages’ guide on the science of food photography.
• Analytics-Driven Menus: Digital menus allow for real-time tracking of which items are most viewed or ordered. This data can be integrated with your POS system, providing real-time insights that help optimize your menu layout, reorder items, and identify potential promotional opportunities. Plus, this integration helps you with inventory management and adjusting pricing dynamically. Learn more about POS integration with your website here.

Pricing Psychology

How you set prices on your menu can have a dramatic effect on ordering behavior. Here are a few key strategies:

• Avoid Dollar Signs: Research shows that when prices are listed with dollar signs (e.g., $10.00), they can make diners more conscious of the cost rather than the experience. Instead, simply listing the number (e.g., 10), or even using words like “Only 10”, can have a softer impact, encouraging guests to focus on the value rather than the price tag.
• Charm Pricing: Using charm pricing (i.e., pricing items at $9.99 instead of $10.00) subtly increases the perception of value. This strategy plays on the human tendency to see $9.99 as closer to $9 rather than $10, even though the difference is only one cent.
• Bundles and Best Value Indicators: Group items together as bundles (e.g., entrée, side, and drink) and price them as a package deal. Customers are more likely to spend more when they perceive they're getting a better value. You can also use best value indicators (like a star or badge) to showcase your most profitable or popular items.

A study by the National Restaurant Association supports the idea that strategic pricing increases both customer satisfaction and overall sales.

Leveraging Menu Descriptions

The way you describe your dishes can significantly impact their sales. According to research, menu items with carefully crafted descriptions can see a sales increase of up to 27%. Here are a few tips to leverage the power of descriptive language:

• Seasonal Specials with Storytelling: Seasonal specials provide an opportunity to craft a narrative. When you describe a seasonal item, incorporate storytelling elements that emphasize freshness, locality, or unique ingredients. For instance, “Our summer harvest salad features hand-picked heirloom tomatoes from a local farm, tossed with fresh greens and a tangy vinaigrette” sounds more appealing and exciting than just “Salad with tomatoes.”
• Highlight Local and Sustainable Ingredients: Many customers are now more conscious about where their food comes from. Use this to your advantage by highlighting locally sourced or sustainable ingredients. For example, “This dish uses organic, pasture-raised chicken from a nearby farm” not only increases the perceived value but appeals to conscious diners. Learn more about how restaurants are marketing plant-based menus effectively.

Combining Design With Marketing

Your menu can work in tandem with your restaurant's broader marketing strategy to create a more cohesive and integrated customer experience:

• Retargeting Guests: Using digital menus allows you to retarget guests who viewed specific dishes online. Through email campaigns or social media ads, you can bring them back to the restaurant with enticing offers. Learn more about retargeting ads to help increase repeat visits.
• Loyalty Programs and Limited-Time Offers: Digital menus can also be integrated into your loyalty programs to encourage repeat business. Offering a discount or special promotion for returning guests can boost both revenue and customer loyalty. Check out examples of successful loyalty programs in this blog.
• SEO for “Near Me” Searches: Ensure your digital menu is optimized for search engines, especially for “near me” searches. When customers search for restaurants nearby, menus that are optimized and highlighted for search engines are more likely to show up. Learn how to optimize your website for near-me searches to improve your restaurant’s online visibility.

Conclusion

Menu design—whether it’s printed or digital—should be viewed as a dynamic and strategic tool for influencing guest behavior, increasing revenue, and creating a seamless dining experience. By understanding the psychology behind menu choices, leveraging digital tools, crafting engaging descriptions, and integrating smart pricing strategies, you can optimize your menu for maximum profitability.

Incorporating these elements will not only improve customer satisfaction but also drive repeat business and build a loyal customer base. For more tips on maximizing ROI from your restaurant’s marketing campaigns, check out this detailed guide on how to calculate ROI on restaurant marketing campaigns.