The Persuasiveness of Menu Item Descriptions: The Influence of Language on Consumer Menu Choice in Kenyan Casual Dining Restaurants

Abstract

This study investigated the influence of descriptive language on consumers' menu item choices in casual dining restaurants. The study was anchored on the stimulus-organization-response theory. The study focused on customers who patronize casual dining restaurants in Kenya and adopted a cross-sectional survey design. A cluster sampling method followed by simple random sampling methods was used to select respondents from the target population. Four hundred and fifteen participants (n = 415) were drawn using simple random sampling from five Kenyan universities. The data collection tool included a questionnaire with a response rate of 69.1%. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The study results demonstrated that consumer item choice is influenced by various factors. The results showed that there was a weak association (r = 0.36, p < 0.05) between descriptive language and consumers' menu item choices. The F-value (F (1) = 48.308, p < 0.05) implies that the way menu items were described had a significant effect on which item a consumer chooses. R-square = 0.32, meaning the model is not a perfect predictor of the menu item choice. The study recommends that restaurant owners should focus on creating unique menu descriptions and using new technologies in restaurant menu development.