CINCINNATI, Ohio – This week, dunnhumby, a leading customer science company, announced the top fast food and fast causal restaurants according to its second annual Customer Centricity Index™ (CCI). In-N-Out Burger and T.G.I. Friday’s topped the list in their respective fast food and fast casual categories. The CCI measures how well retailers are responding to the needs and wants of their guests based on feedback from actual customers.  

"Restaurants are facing increasing challenges every day – pricing pressures, an increased focus on having an assortment mix of healthy and indulgent offerings, as well as increasing labor and food costs," said Peter Miles-Prouten, Senior Vice President, Consumer Markets, dunnhumbyUSA. "With new competitors and formats being introduced almost daily, the key to winning the 'battle for the stomach' is to find new and different ways to connect to the customer. The restaurants included in this report lead their respective categories, from the perspective of their guests."

The Top 10 fast food retailers are:
1.     In-N-Out Burger
2.     Chick-fil-A
3.     Culver's
4.     Subway
5.     Whataburger
6.     Sonic
7.     Arby's
8.     Popeye's
9.     Hardee's
10.  McDonald's

For the fast food industry, key findings of the survey include:

• Promotion for limited time offers are everywhere throughout the industry and low prices are seemingly key to survival. All fast food chains have scored high on price and promotion, as value is deemed important by fast food customers.
• In general, fast food chains rank low in loyalty. The Chick-fil-A-list and MySubway programs seem to have created some differentiation in the minds of their customers but the category is ready for a focus on building loyalty.
• Scores for feedback and communication are low in the fast food segment. In the digital age, this seems like a ripe area for improvement, leveraging mobile, social media and direct feedback as a way to make customers feel like they are being heard.

The Top 10 fast casual retailers are:
1.     T.G.I. Friday’s
2.     Texas Roadhouse
3.     LongHorn Steakhouse
4.     Bonefish Grill
5.     Red Robin
6.     Carrabba's Italian Grill
7.     Olive Garden
8.     Outback
9.     Chili's
10.  Bob Evans

For the fast casual industry, key findings of the survey include:

• Food matters. Balancing old favorites with new innovations on the menu is a constant struggle, but restaurants like LongHorn Steakhouse and Carrabba's Italian Grill differentiate by keeping customers excited about the menu.
• Customer experience matters as much as the food does. Customers at Texas Roadhouse and Bonefish Grill have cited the ambience and great dining experience as reasons for their loyalty.
• T.G.I .Friday’s has earned the number one spot, in part by providing value and rewarding customers for their loyalty in an industry where loyalty is still emerging.

To access the full dunnhumby CCI Food Service Report, additional industry insights and the complete list of rankings, click here.