Win the call on what eating out costs.
A like-for-like index of menu prices: the same dish at the same venue, month after month, with portions weighed — so a smaller burger at the same price counts as a rise.
Put the price question the way your desk asks it.
Six things price watchers say, and what comes back.
What price watchers say
Sample one sample market and its menus
Which of its dishes rose faster than the same dishes nearby?
Most of its dishes moved with the market. Its coffee ran ahead.
12 of its 40 dishes rose faster than the same dishes nearby.
Take the twelve to the next call with the chain.
A pricing question answered dish by dish.
How did the same cup move this month, market by market?
Most markets held the price of the cup. A few moved.
5 of 14 markets raised the price of the same cup.
Lead the story with the five that moved.
A monthly figure the desk can stand behind.
Which price band rose most over the past year?
The cheapest dishes rose most. The dearest barely moved.
+5.1% on the cheapest fifth of dishes, +0.9% on the dearest.
Put the cheap-dish rise at the top of the brief.
A brief that shows who pays the rise.
Which dishes got smaller at the same price?
Prices held on most menus. A few portions shrank.
9 of 60 dishes served less food at the same price.
Count the nine as rises in this month's figure.
A smaller portion counted as the rise it is.
Which venues passed the new list price on to the menu?
Most venues held the menu price. Some passed the rise on in full.
140 of 330 venues raised the menu price within a month.
Show the sales team which venues held.
A list-price rise followed to the menu.
What do the same dishes cost there, against the home market?
Most dishes cost less there. Coffee costs more.
12 of 18 dish types sit below the home market's price.
Set the launch price list from the first week.
A launch price list set on local prices.
Measure the price, not the menu change.
Only the same item at the same venue is compared, month to month. New dishes, dropped dishes, meal deals and kids' items are kept out, so a menu redesign never reads as inflation.
Most venues held; the few that raised moved the average.
Just ask Realytics “Which dishes are rising fastest where I operate?”
Count a smaller portion as a price rise.
Weight, volume and pieces are read from the menu, so the index moves when the portion shrinks and the price holds.
Same price, less food: two rises the index counts
Chicken nuggets
Burger
Same price, less food: the index counts it.
Know how many raised, and by how much.
Behind every index number: how many venues raised, how many held, how far the raisers went.
An average hides a market that mostly held.
Just ask Realytics “How fast are menu prices rising in my market?”
Cut the index by dish, market, city and chain.
By dish type and course, by market, city and district, by cuisine and chain, by price band — refreshed every week.
Pizza rose most, and in one market only
Average menu price change over the past year, the same dish at the same venue.| Dish type | Market A | Market B | Market C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burgers | +3.4% | +1.2% | +4.9% |
| Coffee | +5.2% | +3.3% | +0.9% |
| Pizza | +1.1% | +0.6% | +9.2% |
One method, every cut.
Read a market's menu prices before you enter it.
Before a chain or a brand opens in a new market, it sees that market's menu mix and dish prices: the same dishes, priced against the home market.
A market before entry: the same dishes, against the home market
Each dish's typical menu price there, against the same dish in the home market.Before the first opening, the same benchmarks.
Just ask Realytics “What do the same dishes cost in the market we're entering?”
Hand every desk the same menu price index.
A research desk, a statistics office, a newsroom and a finance team each ask what eating out costs in their own way. This is what each of them takes from one index.
A chain's menu prices against its market, between the quarters
- Each chain's dish prices, month by month, like for like.
- Whether a chain raised faster than the same dishes nearby.
- How many of its locations raised, and how far.
Food away from home, priced dish by dish every month
- The same dish at the same venue, month after month.
- Portions weighed, so a smaller serving counts as a rise.
- Meal deals, kids' items and new dishes kept apart.
What eating out costs this month, in plain numbers
- The dishes rising fastest, and the ones holding.
- How many venues raised, beside the average.
- The same cut every month, for a running story.
What a market pays to eat out, cheap dishes and dear
- The index by price band, the cheapest dishes first.
- District by district, where menu prices moved most.
- Smaller portions, counted as the price rises they are.
The chain's own price moves against its market's
- Each dish's change against the same dish at nearby venues.
- Where a raise ran ahead of the market, and where it lagged.
- Each location's prices, like for like, against the price list.
A product's menu price, venue by venue
- The menu price of a product at every venue that lists it.
- Whether venues passed a list price on, and how far.
- The index for the dishes a product goes into.
The same dish at the same venue, whoever is asking.
Weekly refreshed, since 2020
Start with the dishes you watch.
Why did the same dish rise faster in one market than the next? Name the dishes and the markets; your first insight comes back the same day.