Ever wonder why you seem to spend more in restaurants? While it’s a fact that you spend more when you eat outside rather than making food at home, restaurants make use of psychology to make you spend more. These are strategies that are backed by behavioral science, designed to influence your choices. If you want to be a wise spender, then look out for these 10 menu psychological tricks that restaurants use.
10. The Upsell Sequence Design
While we know that appetizers are placed first on the meal flow, there’s a psychology behind that. If you’re fully committed to spending money on a starter, then you’re also spending more to fill an entire meal. They call it the “foot-in-the-door” technique that works well on customers. The next time you feel like the menu is manipulating you to spend on an appetizer that you can do at home, then rethink your decision.
9. The False Bottom Effect
Customers who usually wait to get seated at restaurants are hungry. As they scan the menu, they would see the high-margin items placed above the fold or at the bottom of the first section. Of course, you’d think that the top section is too “expensive.” Your eyes will eventually rest on these high-margin items as they seem reasonably priced and are a default choice.
8. Color Psychology Influence
Red and orange naturally stimulate appetite and urgency. This is why many fast-casual restaurants make use of these colors in their branding. It’s observable through menu highlights. Meanwhile, green suggests freshness and health, which are used in salads and options for vegetarians. They aren’t as aesthetic as you thought they were, but rather, behavioral triggers.
7. Strategic White Space Usage
The empty space around high-margin items isn’t accidental. White space draws attention and makes dishes appear more premium and important. Meanwhile, items crowded together look cheaper and less special, even if they’re the same quality.
6. Nostalgia and Story Selling
As the saying goes, “nostalgia sells,” so restaurants utilize it to their advantage. You may see “Grandma’s Famous Meatloaf” and “Chef’s Childhood Favorite Mac & Cheese” on the menu, even when these dishes aren’t connected to whoever. Through attaching personal stories and family connections, diners would likely order them as they assume they’re made special. Mostly, they also have higher prices.
5. The Three-Tier Trap
Most people avoid both the cheapest and most expensive options. Instead, they go towards the middle. This is a psychological trick that makes you choose their second-most expensive item. Usually, they’re the ones that the restaurant wants to sell. They call it the “Goldilocks effect” as you’re drawn to what seems the right choice.
4. Sensory Language Overload
Watch out for sensory languages: hand-cut, locally-sourced, and even herb-crusted. They’re more appealing than a simple “grilled fish vegetables.” They’re these descriptive adjectives and preparation methods are made to sound more valuable. This makes restaurants justify high prices, as they’re sourced and prepared not in the usual manner.
3. The Golden Triangle Eye Path
Menu designers know your eyes follow a predictable pattern: upper right corner first, then upper left, then lower right. The most profitable items are strategically placed in these “golden triangle” spots. Meanwhile, while less profitable ones get buried in the lower left corner, where few people look. As someone who’s hungry, you’re eyes will definitely hook on this triangle.
2. Dollar Sign Elimination
Notice how upscale restaurants write “30” instead of “$30.00”? Psychology proves that dollar signs trigger the “pain of paying” in your brain. With this, they remove the currency symbol, as well as the decimal points, to make spending feel less on your part. You’ll definitely dwell on the cost as soon as your server hands you your bill, but hey, at least you got good food.
1. The Decoy Effect (Strategic Pricing)
Watch out for another psychological menu scheme: Restaurants intentionally place one extremely expensive item on the menu to make everything else look reasonably priced by comparison. Yup, that $45 steak isn’t meant to sell. Rather, it’s there to make the $28 salmon seem like a bargain. This “anchor pricing” trick your brain into thinking you’re getting a deal on the mid-range options.