Consumers have shifted their pizza-ordering habits, cutting back on weekdays but ordering more often on weekends, Technomic Information Services found earlier this year.
In 2006, Technomic found that 35% of consumers indicated that they would primarily order pizza for dinner during the week, and just over a quarter (28%) typically ordered pizza for dinner during the weekend. Today’s consumers, however, report that they order pizza for dinner on the weekend (32%) slightly more than they do during the week (29%).
The survey, conducted for Technomic’s Pizza Consumer Trend Report, also found the following:
• When eating pizza, health and wellness is a concern for 69% of consumers, yet half these consumers do not let their concerns influence their consumption behavior. To appeal to those truly interested in healthier alternatives, pizza operators must not sacrifice taste, focusing instead upon ingredients that carry a health halo, such as those which are coined as all-natural, fresh and artisan.
• Consumer preferences, particularly for pizza crust and sauce, vary regionally and ethnically. For example, sweet sauces are favored by more consumers in the Northeast (25%) than among Southern (18%), Midwestern (17%) and Western (13%) consumers. Also, pesto-flavored sauce was preferred by 14% of all consumers; Asians, however, chose pesto more than any other ethnic group (24%).