Blogs
This time last year we were discussing the importance of upselling in restaurants. Research we conducted demonstrated that upselling in the foodservice industry significantly declined between 2012 and 2014. 70% of visits in 2014 featured upselling, compared with 83% recorded in 2012.
We noted that it was important for operators to invest in upselling training; the Net Promoter Score is actually higher in visits where upselling features. This suggested that the customer appreciates the offer and the implied consideration of their requirements, and this is ultimately translated into positive word-of-mouth.
Channel 4 aired a programme this week which confirmed another positive dimension upselling offers. "Tricks of the Restaurant Trade" performed a simple experiment whereby they split a restaurant of people in half; upselling to one half and avoiding it altogether with the other. Although you would expect for there to be a difference in the spend-per-head, the actual difference surpassed expectations. Those who were not offered any upselling spent around £28 per head, whilst those who were spent £48.
Those in the latter category not only spent more on what they were upsold, but also spent more on additional wine and food. It goes to show that not only can upselling more often enhance the experience, it also provides substantial benefit to the operator.
Catch up with the programme on Channel 4.
