Study Found Out Late Night Attracts Fast Food's Best Customers

A recent research study among fast-food users shows that late night dining is important to a strong contingent of the industry's best customers -- young males. And these late night diners aren't just stopping by for a soda or snack. More than two-thirds of males 18-34 are filling up on main meal items during their nighttime visits and almost one in four purchase some type of side item to go along with it. These findings are based on the quarterly syndicated Quick-Track(R) research program conducted by Sandelman & Associates among a nationally representative sample of 600 fast-food users in January-March, 2005. "Late night diners have an appetite for fast-food and are willing to spend even more after 10 p.m. than earlier in the day to satisfy their cravings," said Bob Sandelman, president of the market research firm. Late night diners are spending an average of $6.22 per person per late night visit, well above the all-day spending average. Young males spend even more late at night, averaging $7.23 per visit. "Since only a few chains dominate the late night dining scene, there seems to be a great deal of untapped potential," Sandelman added. In fact, the research shows that about half of late night users would make nighttime visits to a chain they currently visit during regular hours, or even to a chain not in their normal dining set, if those chains were to extend their hours after 10 p.m. http://www.restaurantnewsresource.com/