Quick Service Restaurant Trends: 5 Key Insights for Grocers

Grocery and Market

Quick Service Restaurant Trends: 5 Key Insights for Grocers

Sep 09, 2025 • 6 min read

Convenience is king for modern consumers.

Customers want to be able to get everything they need in one place. They don’t want to be driving around to a restaurant for lunch, then down to the big box store to pick up groceries, then over to the bakery for their bread.

Imagine how much business you could win if customers could get all of those things — including their lunch — in your store?

The quick service restaurant (QSR) market is expected to reach $731 billion by 2030. By integrating QSR management into your grocery operation, you can turn your store into a "grocerant;” a combination grocery store and restaurant that captures multiple corners of your market at once.

You already have what chain restaurants spend millions trying to build: established customer relationships, prime community locations, and supply chain expertise.

Now it's time to leverage those advantages and capitalize on the quick service restaurant trends that can make your grocery store more profitable than ever.

Understanding Quick Service Restaurant Trends in Grocery Settings

Before we explore key insights, let’s lay some groundwork and discuss quick service restaurant trends and why they matter for grocery stores. Why are QSRs on the rise?

Let’s take a look at some key stats:

65% of consumers prefer drive-thru or pickup over dining in.
71% choose to order directly from businesses rather than third-party apps.

These two numbers tell us one thing: your customers want convenience, but not at the expense of quality, personal service.

Independent grocery stores are perfectly positioned to take advantage of this trend because they have the space, customer relationships, operational systems, and supply chain connections every quick service restaurant needs to succeed.

With these larger trends in mind, let’s take a look at the key insights you need to get the most out of your QSR implementation. We’ll cover the processes, technology, and food offerings you need to become your community’s go-to solution for all their food-related needs.

Make Technology Work for You, Not Against You

The right technology should make your life easier, not more complicated.

When you're running both grocery and prepared food operations, you need systems that talk to each other.

One of the keys to success with quick service restaurant trends is investing in a unified point of sale (POS) system that handles retail transactions and restaurant orders on the same platform.

Look for a POS system built for grocerants with features like custom label printing, employee time clock capabilities, custom order modifications, and kitchen receipt printers. You’ll also want to ensure your POS provider offers rugged hardware that can handle the daily use of a quick service restaurant’s workflow.

You may also consider implementing self-service kiosks in your grocerant. These tools can cut down on wait times at the counter and free up your staff to focus on tasks like food preparation or outstanding customer service.

Choose POS systems designed for grocery operations that include restaurant capabilities, rather than restaurant systems trying to handle grocery needs. This ensures your core grocery operations remain efficient while adding food service seamlessly.

Develop All-Day Dining Solutions

The biggest advantage of grab-and-go meal options like QSRs is the stability of offering the same food items from morning until night. While restaurants and fast food joints focus on cornering the breakfast rush and lunch crowds, your grocerant can fill the gaps in between.

Think about your ideal customer's daily routine. Your offerings should reflect what your best customers want from your quick-service restaurant menu.

Morning commuters need grab-and-go breakfast sandwiches and fresh coffee.
Lunch crowds want quick, healthy options like salads and wraps.
Busy families might want a full dinner they can pick up with their groceries.

Be sure to incorporate the grocery side of your business in whatever offerings you decide on for your QSR.

You can create an “easy breakfast” promotion that features both your to-go bagel sandwiches and your selection of breakfast bars and bottled coffee drinks for sale in the grocery side of your store.

The goal is to become a natural part of your ideal customers’ daily routine, no matter which side of the business they’re buying from on a given day.

Offer Unique Cuisine Options

Modern customers love trying something new, and your store is positioned to offer it to them.

Unlike standalone restaurants that may struggle to consistently source the ingredients they need to make authentic, globally inspired dishes, chances are your store already stocks the spices, sauces, and specialty items you need to make those dishes in-house.

You can also play up your local product offerings and the freshness of your products and meals by implementing seasonal specialties and limited-time offerings. You can highlight local ingredients from nearby farms and businesses, choosing a few fresh items to add to your menu each season.

A seasonal menu can also be a great way to test new cuisines and concepts with your market before committing to adding them to your menu on a more permanent basis.

Create Loyalty Programs

Keeping a current customer is less expensive and more valuable in the long run than winning a new one. If you want to hang onto your best customers and turn them into advocates of your store and your QSR, a loyalty program is the way to go.

As a grocerant, you’ll have an advantage over the loyalty programs for traditional restaurants and traditional grocery stores, because you see your customers’ food preferences across the range of their needs, from ingredients to completed meals.

You also have twice as many “entry points” for a new customer to discover your business.

To get the most from your customer loyalty program, design rewards that encourage customers to explore both sides of your business:

Offer points for grocery purchases that can be redeemed for prepared foods.
Provide ingredient discounts when customers buy a meal that uses that ingredient.
Create special promotions for customers who regularly shop both departments.

The key to running a successful loyalty program is using your customer data to create targeted bonuses, discounts, and offerings your customers actually want.

Track customer purchase patterns and offer loyalty discounts and benefits that offer the customer something they either already buy regularly, or a related item they might enjoy. For example, if someone frequently buys salad components in your grocery aisles, offer them a discount on your new grab-and-go salad menu.

Optimize Your Physical Space

The final insight you need to capitalize on the current quick service restaurant trends in your grocerant is to create a store layout that works for customers on both sides of your business.

If you don’t design your space carefully, customers may find key aisles blocked by food service lines or get confused about exactly what kind of business they’ve just entered. Smart space planning is the only thing that will prevent you from creating a frustrating and confusing experience for your customers.

Start by creating some designated zones:

Separate ordering areas for prepared foods.
Clear pickup locations that are easy to find.
Kitchen areas that can handle high-volume preparation without sacrificing food safety.

You may also consider creating or designating a separate entrance specifically for your QSR to reduce congestion at peak hours.

Next, consider your visual merchandising approach. You’re selling both groceries and prepared foods, which gives you a unique opportunity when it comes to merchandising. You can create fresh “display” sandwiches to put next to your breads and deli meats, showing customers the meals they could make with the ingredients while also advertising your in-store sandwich shop.

Finally, allocate an appropriate amount of space to your restaurant and retail sides of your business. Use your point of sale data to identify where the majority of your traffic and sales come from, then build out your floor plan to serve your best customers the way they want to be served.

Capitalizing on Quick Service Restaurant Trends for Grocery Success

The key to understanding the quick service restaurant trends is that the future of food retail and service isn’t about choosing between being a grocery store or a restaurant; it’s about becoming both.

The trend toward QSRs in grocery stores allows you to use restaurant operational strategies to boost grocery sales and vice versa, giving your business an edge over the big box competition.

But taking advantage of these quick service restaurant trends is nearly impossible without the right tools and technology. You need a POS system that can handle these dual operations without creating headaches for you or your team.

The right point of sale solution will handle inventory, process retail sales and food orders, track customer preferences, and provide you with the analytics you need to identify opportunities for growth.

Ready to turn your grocery store into your community's favorite food destination? Build and price your ideal POS solution with Markt POS, designed specifically for grocerants and markets.

Table of Contents

Quick Service Restaurant Trends: 5 Key Insights for Grocers

Understanding Quick Service Restaurant Trends in Grocery Settings