Analysis of the Competitive Landscape and Development Trends of the Fast Food Industry in Guangzhou and Shenzhen

As the largest sector of the catering industry, what are the future development trends of fast food? Catering O2O, together with Horizon Research, released the report "Competitive Landscape and Trends of the Fast Food Industry in Guangzhou and Shenzhen." The average price of fast food in Guangzhou and Shenzhen is 20.9 yuan, higher than the national average of 19.3 yuan. Consumption in central areas is high, but competition is also fierce, and demand differentiation shows different trends across categories.

1. Competition in the fast food market is becoming increasingly fierce

Over the past five years, the number of fast food stores has grown by an average of 1.6 times per year. It seems the industry is thriving, yet the overall closure rate of the fast food industry has reached 46.2%.

Compared with the national fast food industry, the fast food market in Guangzhou and Shenzhen is relatively more stable, but the overall competitive momentum of the fast food industry remains unchanged, and the Guangzhou-Shenzhen region will face even greater challenges in the future.

2. Competition for central areas will become even fiercer

1. Surviving fast food restaurants are mainly concentrated in city centers, overlapping with areas that have developed commerce and active young populations;

2. Rents and costs in central areas are higher, meaning competition in these areas is greater.

3. In the fast food market of Guangzhou and Shenzhen, category distribution shows different characteristics

1. Compared with Shenzhen, Guangzhou has a larger proportion of rice noodle and noodle fast food restaurants, which is related to the rich variety of traditional Guangzhou snacks (rice noodle rolls, bamboo-pressed noodles, etc.);

2. Conversely, Shenzhen has a concentrated proportion of rice-based fast food and more convenient, quick Western-style fast food restaurants, which also fits Shenzhen's urban characteristics (faster pace, more young people);

3. The differences in fast food category distribution reflect differences in the demand characteristics of urban populations.

4. Fast food consumption in Guangzhou and Shenzhen is relatively high

1. The overall per-customer spending level in the fast food industry is between 11 and 25 yuan, with an average per-customer spending of 19.3 yuan;

2. In the Guangzhou-Shenzhen region, all per-customer spending above 16 yuan is higher than the overall level of the fast food industry. The average per-customer spending in the Guangzhou-Shenzhen region is 20.9 yuan, higher than the industry average;

3. From this, we find that the fast food market in the Guangzhou-Shenzhen region has greater potential.

5. The degree of branding in Guangzhou-Shenzhen fast food is higher than the industry, but still at a low level

We define brands with 2 or more stores as chain brands.

1. Overall chain brand stores account for 8.9% of fast food brand stores, indicating high market fragmentation and weak brand strength;

2. For 3 consecutive years, the proportion of overall chain brand stores has not exceeded 12%;

3. The expansion speed of large brands cannot keep up with the store-opening speed of small brands;

4. The proportion of chain brand stores in the Guangzhou-Shenzhen fast food industry is 16.8%, higher than the overall level. Therefore, relative to the industry as a whole, branding in Guangzhou-Shenzhen fast food is relatively strong, and the market is relatively more standardized.

6. The trend toward leisure-oriented dining will strengthen day by day, and service design centered on leisure is the key to breaking through

1. From consumers' views on fast food, it can be seen that leisure-oriented dining is increasing, and consumers are paying more and more attention to service;

2. This raises a question: can some service design be done around "leisure-oriented dining"?

7. Fast food brands are actively transforming to adapt to the leisure-oriented trend

Fast food is actively transforming, and both leisure and fashion are changes made based on the leisure-oriented trend.

For example, Yoshinoya changed from a red main color scheme to a simple, bright design, enhancing consumers' perception of leisure through fashionable, leisure-oriented decoration; Real Kungfu proposed a personalized brand strategy this year, in which leisure-oriented dining is an important component of its personalized strategy.

In some upgraded stores, consumers' perception of leisure is enhanced by changing the meal pickup mode, decoration atmosphere, and environmental layout. We found that in upgraded Real Kungfu stores, some young people play mobile games in their seats after eating, and some even use laptops to work in the restaurant.

Taking rice-based fast food as an example, leisure-oriented snacks and drinks are highly recommended in large proportions. By optimizing the pairing of staple foods and snack products, the perception of customer leisure is created and enhanced.

Overall, the fast food market in Guangzhou and Shenzhen has 4 prominent characteristics:

Relatively high stability; category distribution with regional characteristics; relatively high per-customer spending; relatively high degree of branding.

Through analysis of the current situation, it can be found that the fast food market in Guangzhou and Shenzhen has the following 3 trends:

Market competition will become fiercer, especially competition in city center areas, which requires key investment and attention;

Fast food brands are becoming more regionally characteristic. Making targeted improvements based on regional characteristics can better satisfy local consumers and improve satisfaction;

The leisure-oriented trend in fast food is obvious. Service and product design centered on leisure-oriented dining is worth consideration by catering enterprises.

This article was compiled and published by Changsha Catering Design Company (www.cyb123.cn)!