Among the participating restaurants, only 51% were convinced about the effectiveness of online deals. Nearly 46% restaurants believed that such deals were a good return on their investment. The survey elaborated that nearly 40% of restaurants had participated in daily deal programs with different providers. This indicated a widespread lack of loyalty to a single, online deal brand.

Technomic’s findings complement its study report titled, “Daily Deal Watch--Restaurant Diner Use, Attitudes and Intentions.” The results of this survey indicate that restaurants which had not used online, third-party deal providers believed that other promotional mediums put forth lesser commission rates and thus, better returns.

Most restaurants seem to be smarting in wake of the challenging consumerist environment, becoming more objective in their assessment of various promotional tools. Report analysis yielded that many restaurants still welcome new tactics in this niche, including online daily deals. However, most of them demand more-than-satisfactory proof regarding the performance of such deals before they are ready to adopt them.

 From the October 10, 2011, Prepared Foods' Daily News.