By Patrick Clover, CEO and Founder of Stampede - 2.25.2026
Customer behavior across the restaurant sector is changing. Adults of all ages are going out with different expectations, priorities, and purchasing habits. Some people eat out earlier in the day; others don’t. Some drink alcohol but visit venues more often. For some, the visit is about convenience and price, while for others it’s about exclusivity, a sophisticated menu, and ambiance. These needs differ from person to person and are certainly not uniform across all generations.
It’s important to understand the role that data can play in helping restaurants define and refine their proposition and meet the needs of guests across generations. Additionally, depending on who you ask, some suggest that targeting Millennials instead of Gen Z is the path to success. But is this assumption entirely accurate, and how can operators drive true long-term growth?
Who is my customer, really?
This is why hospitality operators need a clearer picture of who, exactly, is walking through their doors. Is it someone from the Silent Generation? A Baby Boomer? Or is it Generation X (Gen X), a Millennial, or Generation Z (Gen Z)? What are they ordering? What days and times are they coming in? How much are they spending? Which staff members and table locations do they respond best to? Or what beer, cocktail, or meal is driving revenue at a particular restaurant, bar, or pub? Of course, some venues are purpose-built and designed around the needs of specific generations. However, in either case, guest data informs success.
Without accurate guest profile and spend data to add color and detail to the picture of who a customer really is—Millennial, Gen Z, or otherwise—how can operators determine whether their food and beverage offering is working, or whether they need to diversify? Is marketing to Millennials still effective, for example, or do marketing strategies need to be broadened or refined? This kind of guest insight can help both struggling and growing venues thrive. But without access to this customer data, it will continue to be challenging for operators to establish a long-term, strategic, and profitable path forward that meets their customers’ needs, regardless of age or gender.
Data-based growth
Capturing the right data and using the right technology is essential. It provides an accurate view of the current state of the business. This is where an AI-enhanced guest engagement platform, which unifies data from multiple customer touchpoints, offers hospitality businesses both strategic and practical advantages. While many brands are focusing primarily on operational improvements, these modern technologies enable operators to capture, segment, market to, and retain customers more effectively based on actual behavior rather than demographic assumptions. They help operators bring more of the right customers back through their doors—those who drive loyalty and long-term growth.
When someone makes a table reservation through a restaurant’s website, or logs onto the Wi-Fi at a pub or bar, data should be captured in a guest engagement platform. When guest profile data is integrated into a payment platform such as Square’s POS, this information becomes even richer, providing insight into what was actually purchased during visits to a restaurant, bar or hotel. Operators can instantly see how often someone visits, their average spend per person, their food and drink preferences, and whether they responded to a specific promotion. The potential insights are extensive.
What is critical in this scenario is that the data being captured is comprehensive and actionable, providing marketing teams with clear guidance on next steps. Instead of executing campaigns based on guesswork, restaurants, bars, and hotels can build relationships with their customers and market to them based on their actual interests and behaviors. This fundamentally changes marketing and outreach. It makes relationship-building more focused, personalized, and effective. This information also helps operators fine-tune menus, promotions, events, and loyalty programs.
Data-led diversification is not optional
The Guardian recently cited CGA research showing that during 2025, the number of pizza restaurants declined from 5,000 to 3,750. In the same report, The Guardian noted that Domino’s Pizza Group’s chief executive stepped down with immediate effect and acknowledged that it was “pretty obvious” the company needed to broaden its menu to respond to rapid growth in the fried chicken market. The report also highlighted the rise of chicken restaurants and Asian cuisine.
Although this example centers on fast food, it illustrates the broader risks facing restaurants, bars, and hotels when they fail to respond to changing consumer preferences. Without reliable data, operators may miss important shifts in demand. With accurate guest data, however, they can identify emerging trends—from declining interest in specific menu items to growing demand for alternatives—and diversify with confidence.
Importantly, data does not pigeonhole customers by generation. Instead, it reveals what they actually value and want. This insight gives operators the clarity needed to evolve marketing, outreach, and guest engagement strategies in ways that resonate across all generations. Assumptions can be tested and refined. And in a market where behavior is changing rapidly, diversification guided by real data—not guesswork—provides the strongest foundation for sustained growth.
Rather than guessing whether to market to Millennials, Gen Z, or any other demographic group, operators can let the data guide their decisions.
Patrick Clover is CEO and Founder of Stampede, a hospitality technology company that provides a unified guest engagement platform for restaurants, bars, and hotels. He founded Stampede to help operators overcome fragmented technology systems by connecting guest data across reservations, payments, Wi-Fi, loyalty and marketing into a single platform. Stampede enables hospitality businesses to better understand guest behavior, deliver more personalized experiences, and use data-driven insights to improve retention, marketing performance and long-term revenue growth.
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