For Consumers, Value Isn’t Always the Lowest Price

The best value items at foodservice do not always carry the lowest price tags, and the gap between perceived value and actual visit intent can be significant, according to a report from Datassential’s recent Elevate event.

Among 12 menu items tested across price tiers, combos were the strongest traffic drivers, with bundled versions of the same items consistently outperforming their standalone counterparts on visit intent even at significantly higher price points. Mid-priced items showed the same tendency, with larger or more complete versions of dishes driving more visits than their cheaper, smaller alternatives.

Cheaper items held an edge on perceived value, but that perception did not always carry through to actual visit behavior. For example, a house tequila frozen margarita topped its category on value, with 53% of consumers voting it the best value option, but only 43% who chose this item as the best value said it would bring them in more often. Meanwhile, a burger combo, tested in a separate category, told the opposite story: while a smaller proportion (36%) voted it best value, far more (69%) who chose the item as the best value said it would prompt a visit — more than any other item in the research.

The operator response to that dynamic is already visible on menus. Combo and value releases across major chains reached their highest monthly level in over three years in January, according to Datassential’s Launches & Ratings platform — a signal that operators are leaning into bundling as a traffic strategy. 

The lines up with earlier Datassential research suggesting restaurants have moved into a deliberate value-driven strategy. The firm’s Datassential 500 report found that outperforming chains have been leaning into value architecture, with several large brands using tiered pricing strategies and bundled offers to drive traffic. Similarly, its  State of Pricing study showed that median menu prices at large national chains declined last year after aggressive price hikes between 2022 and 2024, while menu inflation across the industry saw a slight increase.