The Psychology Behind Menu Design

While delicious food and impeccable service are undoubtedly essential components of a great dining experience, the menu is an often-overlooked but powerful tool in a restaurant's arsenal. 

By understanding the psychology behind how people make decisions, restaurant owners can design their menus to encourage customers to order certain items and spend more money, leading to more sales.

Here are six of the various techniques menu engineers use to influence customer decisions while ordering from menus, and how you can apply them;

1. Keeping The Menu Simple

People get overwhelmed when they see too many choices. This is because, according to the Paradox of Choice, having too many options can lead to decision paralysis, anxiety, and regret. 

Hence to avoid this, you should always limit the number of dishes in each section to 7 or fewer. 

2. Decoy Dishes

This is when you place a slightly more expensive item at the top of a section to make the other items look like a better deal. This is based on price anchoring, which suggests that people tend to compare prices relative to a reference point. When the reference point is higher, the other items appear more affordable.

Another effective decoy technique involves positioning a less desirable option in the middle of a section, making the last item seem more appealing in comparison. This strategy, known as the attraction effect, subtly influences customers' choices towards the higher-profit margin item.

3. Excluding the currency sign

This makes people less aware of how much they are spending[1] and makes them spend more[2]. This is because it takes the emphasis away from the cost of the meal and allows people to focus on the product and experience.

4. Longer Descriptions

It's common for items on a menu to have descriptions of a similar length to maintain a consistent layout. 

However, when something deviates from this pattern, it stands out and captures attention.

The study titled, "The Effect of Menu Item Descriptions on Sales" by Brian Wansink, Brian J. Painter, and K. Eric Ittersum, published in the Journal of Consumer Research in 2001 reveals that menu items with longer descriptions sold 27% more than mitems with shorter descriptions. 

The researchers suggest that this is because longer descriptions make the food sound more appealing and increase customer confidence in their choices.

5. Using Negative Space

Negative space, often referred to as white space, is the intentional use of empty areas in design. 

Using this in menu design allows customers' eyes to rest and navigate the menu with ease. 

This clarity helps them make informed decisions, transforming the menu from a confusing maze into a friendly guide.

High-profit margin items can be presented using negative space on the menu, receiving attention and increasing the likelihood of their selection. 

6. Colour Confusion

The colours used in menus evoke distinct emotions and psychological responses, which can be strategically harnessed to guide customer preferences[3]. 

Green suggests fresh and wholesome food, orange stimulates appetite and excitement, yellow draws attention and creates a welcoming atmosphere, and red grabs attention and evokes feelings of urgency, passion, and excitement. Additionally, blue, white, and brown can be used in menu design to create specific moods or highlight the presentation of the food.

Strategically employing these colours can create visually appealing and persuasive menus that entice customers to make certain choices and increase sales.

7. Vegan Labelling

In naming dishes, refrain from using the words “Vegan “Vegetarian”. The attribute of a dish being vegan is only a selling point to vegans, which is not the primary target for most restaurants especially in cities with minute vegan populations. Keep your ideal customer in mind while naming dishes and focus on the key ingredients and descriptive words and adjectives.

A study titled "The Negative Impact of Vegetarian and Vegan Labels: Results from Randomized Controlled Experiments with US Consumers" showed that dishes having “Vegan” or “Vegetarian” labels are less likely to be picked as compared to when they are removed.

Removing such labels and focusing on key ingredients of the dish is more effective in promoting plant-based dishes to a wider range of customers consequently leading to more sales.

8. Surcharge for Plant-based Alternatives

Adding a surcharge for alternatives often leads to a negative experience, rather guests are delighted when there is no surcharge for using alternative milks for example as they are used to paying extra in most places. Instead of having 4 plant based milks at a surcharge.

9. Costing Deviations

Diners are always vigilant of prices, often seeking the best value for their money. A subtle but effective strategy is to price items just below a round number. For instance, pricing a dish at 29 instead of 30 can psychologically appear more appealing and affordable to customers. This tactic, known as "charm pricing," leverages the common perception that slightly lower prices signify a better deal, encouraging diners to feel they are making a cost-effective choice.

10. Strategic Dish Placement 

The arrangement of items on a menu can subtly influence customer choices. Most diners subconsciously pay more attention to the first and last items listed in each category. Knowing this, restaurants often place their highest-margin dishes at the beginning of a section. The last item, though receiving slightly less attention, is also strategically selected, usually being the third most profitable option. This placement ensures that the dishes most likely to be chosen by indecisive diners are also the ones that benefit the restaurant's bottom line.

In conclusion, menu design is a powerful tool restaurant owners can use to influence customer decisions and increase sales. 

By keeping the menu simple, strategically using decoy dishes, excluding currency signs, providing longer descriptions, utilizing negative space, and employing colours that evoke positive emotions, restaurateurs can create persuasive and visually appealing menus. 

These techniques can help customers make decisions that result in increased sales for the restaurant.