Smaller portions, equal prices: two-thirds of Dutch people notice shrinkflation in hospitality industry

More than two-thirds (69%) of Dutch consumers notice that dishes in restaurants have become smaller but are offered at the same price as before, a phenomenon also known as 'shrinkflation'. Equally, a large proportion (66%) is aware that restaurants are forced to do this to cope with inflation. Consequently, 44 per cent are willing to accept smaller portions or higher prices at their favourite restaurants if it means they can stay afloat financially as a result. This is according to a survey by Lightspeed Commerce Inc. (NYSE: LSPD) (TSX: LSPD), the complete checkout and payment platform of thousands of ambitious entrepreneurs worldwide.

Contractionary inflation against inflation

The Dutch would rather be served smaller portions than have to pay more: for example, 39 per cent prefer "shrinkflation" to a price increase for dishes of the same size. Half even say they do not mind paying the same for less, as long as it is clearly communicated.

"Our menu has been revised four times a year since our inception," Quinta Witzel, co-founder of the popular poké chain, tells Poké Perfect. "We do this because we introduce specials and want to offer seasonal ingredients, but also because we want to keep a close eye on our margins. Sometimes that means removing an ingredient from the menu. The alternative is to raise prices or reduce portion sizes, but we don't change portion sizes on principle anyway, and raising prices doesn't make anyone happy. So we prefer not to offer the ingredient until the purchase price is at an acceptable level again. Food cost has a big effect on your final profit margin, which is why we are always on top of it."

"It is reassuring to conclude from this survey that Dutch restaurant-goers can empathise with the position of hospitality entrepreneurs," says Emine Youssef, Regional Manager Benelux Hospitality at Lightspeed. "While there is often less on their plates, they also understand that this is inevitable in these economic times. The hospitality sector has suffered a lot in recent years and many guests are happy to enjoy eating out again at all. In addition, almost every household has noticed an increase in the cost of living and, in their view, it is a logical consequence that this effect is also noticed in the hospitality sector."

Lightspeed launches Advanced Insights for restaurants

To improve menu profit margins, get a better grip on costs, map guest consumption behaviour and optimise staff planning, Lightspeed launches Advanced Insights in the Dutch hospitality sector.

Advanced Insights combines real-time order data from Lightspeed Restaurant with payment dates of Lightspeed Payments - a unique feature in the hospitality technology sector - to visualise the performance of menus and staff so that hospitality operators can make better, smarter and, above all, data-driven decisions.

For example, the add-on categorises all products and dishes on a menu according to their profitability, order frequency, and customer retention. Clear heatmaps also highlight peak hours and top-performing employees, allowing staff schedules to be better aligned with reality. Advanced Insights is a free add-on for the latest version of Lightspeed Restaurant, and is available from today.

"Shrinkflation is one of the ways in which hospitality operators can cope with inflation and rising wage and raw material prices. As a result, optimising portion sizes has become a daily task. Advanced Insights allows owners to use data to simplify such choices, rather than relying on gut feelings. Advanced Insights gives hospitality entrepreneurs the insight to better protect their profit margins from unexpected circumstances and adapt to the actual consumption behaviour of their target audience and changing trends."

More information on Lightspeed Restaurant's new features is on our website find.