The menu you design is not merely a list of dishes because it leads customers toward certain choices which affect their orders and spending. The design of your menu has a massive impact on your business whether you run a fancy restaurant or a buzzing takeaway.
How Menu Layout Affects Customer Choices
Your menu can be used as more than a simple list because it strategically directs customers toward your preferred orders.
Where Eyes Go First: When people review menus, their eyes typically follow a Z-path beginning at the top left corner and moving right before descending downward. Your bestsellers and the most profitable dishes belong in the area where customers first look.
Fonts and Readability: Fancy fonts have an attractive appearance but makes it difficult for people to read. Your restaurant menu should have clear and readable text while reflecting your restaurant’s design aesthetic.
Boxes and Highlights: Make your dish noticeable by boxing it or adding a small highlight element to draw attention.
And don’t forget your online menu! Online menu designs must be optimised for mobile devices while ensuring they remain easily scannable by users.
The Role of Colours in Menu Design
Customer decisions are greatly influenced by colour choices, even though people may not realise it.
Red and Yellow: Fast food chains favor red and yellow because these colours stimulate hunger and excitement in people.
Green and Earthy Tones: Green and earthy tones work well for healthy, organic, and plant-based menus since they suggest freshness.
Blue: Blue represents calmness but reduces hunger signals, which makes it ideal mostly for seafood-focused menus.
When you spend money on menu design and printing make sure the colours reflect your restaurant’s atmosphere while shaping how customers perceive your establishment.
Smart Pricing Tricks to Boost Sales
Pricing with a psychological approach effectively guides customers to make specific choices.
The Decoy Effect: Positioning the most expensive dish at the top of the menu leads customers to think that other dishes are more affordable.
Three-Tiered Pricing: Did you observe that people usually choose the middle option? That’s by design! Presenting three portion sizes encourages most people to select the medium option.
Drop the Pound Sign: Research indicates that people spend more at restaurants when menus do not include the ‘£’ symbol.
Are you thinking about printing takeaway menus? Your pricing should be arranged to promote sales while ensuring customers don’t feel overloaded.
The Right Number of Choices
When there are too many options, the customer can get overwhelmed. Too few options and the customer might feel restricted. There should be 7–10 items presented in each menu category.
Too Many Choices? People find it difficult to decide and usually choose options they already know.
Too Few Choices? A limited selection of menu options causes customers to search for alternatives in another restaurant.
For better navigation of big menus, use distinct section headings to organize the items.
Show Off Your Awards to Build Trust
Your restaurant should prominently display any received awards on the menu. Awards raise customer confidence in your food while assisting them in their menu selection process.
Badges and Logos: An award symbol beside a menu item increases its appeal to customers.
Limited-Time Specials: When your menu features an award-winning dish, make sure to showcase it prominently!
Customer Reviews: Presenting popular food items will boost customer confidence and drive new customers to try your offerings.
Digital Menus & Online Ordering: The Future of Menu Design
An effective digital menu design becomes essential as online food ordering grows.
Easy Navigation: Your online menu design should provide simple and user-friendly navigation.
Mouth-Watering Photos: Customers are more likely to place orders when they see high-quality images on your menu.
Real-Time Updates: Digital menus offer the ability to adjust pricing and availability while adding specials immediately, unlike printed menus.
Your menu functions as your primary sales tool rather than just a simple list of offerings. Applying psychological tricks to either printed or online menu creation helps increase sales while also enhancing customer satisfaction.
FAQ
- What strategies will make my takeaway menu more successful?
Combine straightforward layouts with highlighted bestsellers, and make sure your takeaway menu printouts are clean and readable.
2. What’s the best way to price menu items?
By using anchor pricing and three-tiered pricing and removing currency symbols, you can effectively encourage the customers to spend more.
3. How do restaurant awards help menu sales?
If your restaurant wins a restaurant award, it will build trust and make it more credible, encouraging customers to order your award-winning dishes.
