Out of Home Digital Market Food Promotions Research in Scotland report

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) commissioned Ipsos to conduct research exploring the impact of promotions and other marketing strategies on consumer behaviours when ordering from the Out of Home Digital Market (OOH Digital Market) in Scotland. The specific research objectives were: 

1. To understand if, and why, promotions and other marketing strategies result in consumers ordering food more often from the OOH Digital Market. 
2. To understand if, and why, promotions and other marketing strategies result in consumers ordering a greater volume of food, and therefore more calories from the OOH Digital Market. 
3. To understand whether different types of promotions and other marketing strategies within the OOH Digital Market influence consumer behaviours in different ways. 

The study was small scale and primarily qualitative in nature. In summary, 29 adult consumers, who regularly used digital methods to order food and drink from OOH outlets, took part in: 

• a four-week online diary task using the Indeemo mobile app (an online video research platform) to record their online orders (this involved a combination of preset tasks and screen recordings of their mobile phone during the ordering process). 
• follow-up in-depth video interviews to further explore and understand the impact that exposure to any digital promotions or marketing strategies had on their ordering behaviours. 
• The combination of the Indeemo diary task (capturing qualitative and quantitative data) and follow-up qualitative research was key to addressing the research objectives. Indeemo facilitated the capturing of consumers’ live digital interactions with OOH outlets, enabling real-time, accurate data collection. Follow-up interviews added further context to Indeemo observations by providing an opportunity to probe on specific orders and understand why participants made the decisions they did. 

Ordering behaviours

• Over the course of the fieldwork period, 106 orders were placed, equating to an average of 1 order per week, per participant. 
• Evening was the peak time for takeaway ordering, with 75% of all 106 orders placed for evening meals. Fridays saw the highest number of orders (27%), followed by Mondays (17%) and Saturdays (13%). 
• The most frequently mentioned reasons for ordering a takeaway were for a treat or for convenience (e.g. being too tired to cook, finding it easier to order than to cook and not having time to cook). 
• Two thirds (67%) of all orders were placed through aggregator apps and a third (33%) via restaurants’ own websites or apps.

The decision to order  

Participants were exposed to a range of promotions and other marketing strategies (e.g.  through push notifications, emails and texts). They reported that promotions were only  one factor in the decision to order, and generally not the deciding factor.  

The ordering process

• Across the 106 orders placed, a total of 652 promotions and other marketing strategies  were observed, averaging six per order.
• Promotions were taken up in 78 of the 106 (74%) orders made, and by 27 of the 29  participants. There were 15 orders where promotions or other marketing strategies were  present but not taken up and 14 orders where no promotions were present.  
• The average number of promotions was higher when participants ordered from chain outlets (seven per order) compared with independent outlets (five per order). The average number of promotions was also higher when participants ordered using  aggregator apps and websites (seven per order) compared with an outlet’s own app or website (four per order).  
• A range of promotion types were present throughout the ordering process. The most common were price promotions and upselling strategies.
• Participants reported that cost-saving was a common factor in decisions when ordering  from the OOH Digital Market and, correspondingly, price promotions had the highest take  up rate. These included discounts with a minimum spend, meal deals, offers with a  subscription (typically a perk of another subscription), and discounts on specific items or  outlets. 
• Participants reported that certain types of price promotions were particularly influential in  the purchasing of additional food, including: discounts with a minimum spend, meal  deals, and multibuy offers. In some cases, participants’ decisions to order more food  were intentional (e.g. to cover a future meal), while in others they were prompted more  spontaneously and consumed as part of the same meal.

Findings suggest that consumers were commonly exposed to a range of promotions and other marketing strategies both before and during ordering. 

While communications about promotions were commonplace and promotions were frequently used during orders, their direct impact on prompting unplanned takeaway orders appeared limited. Participants primarily reported to order for reasons of convenience or as a treat, with promotions and marketing strategies rarely being the sole trigger. However, the ubiquitous nature of promotions, especially within aggregator apps and chain outlets, created an expectation that discounts would always be available. This potentially influenced ordering behaviours more subliminally. 

Promotions and marketing strategies had a clearer impact on the volume of food ordered than the frequency of ordering, with certain price promotions sometimes leading to unintended over-ordering (e.g. discounts with a minimum spend) or more food being ordered on the basis of perceived value for money (e.g. meal deals). 

Financial considerations played a key role in decisions around ordering from the OOH Digital Market. Price promotions, which had both high prevalence and uptake, were perceived to be valuable, particularly by those facing financial constraints, and were often reported to have influenced platform and outlet choices. They could be what swayed a decision in situations 
where consumers were undecided about ordering a takeaway. They could also influence decisions on the food ordered, including, in some cases, more food being ordered as a result. 

Among those who were less influenced by promotions, habit came into play. These participants’ ordering behaviours were more habitual, choosing the same outlets and items time and again. Ordering food that they knew they would enjoy was perceived as more important than using promotional discounts. 

Aggregator apps were found to play a key role in consumer decision making in the OOH Digital Market. Participants liked them for their ease and convenience, as well as the promotions they offered. Price promotions were also more prevalent in aggregator apps (as well as chain restaurants) and they contributed to participants’ perception that there will ‘always’ be a 
promotion available any time they wish to order a takeaway, which, the evidence suggests may contribute to consumers ordering from the OOH Digital Market more frequently.