Leading Brands in US Dining & Restaurants: Q4 2024 Analysis

Introduction

In the dynamic world of dining and restaurants, digital presence plays a pivotal role in engaging with consumers. In Q4 2024, three significant players in the US market—McDonald's, Yelp Inc., and Starbucks—demonstrated robust digital strategies. This article delves into their performance across websites and apps, using data insights from Sensor Tower.

McDonald's

McDonald's digital footprint spans its website, mcdonalds.com, and the McDonald's app.

• Audience Trends: By December, McDonald's achieved a monthly deduplicated audience of approximately 56M, with substantial contributions from app users. The website experienced a slight dip in unique visits in November but rebounded in December with nearly 5.8M unique visitors.

• App Engagement: The McDonald's app maintained a strong monthly active user base, peaking at over 23M in December, underscoring a consistent preference for mobile engagement.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Monthly advertising expenditure increased towards the year's end, with December's spend exceeding $31M, primarily on OTT and Facebook, achieving significant impressions.

Yelp Inc.

Yelp's presence is anchored by its website, yelp.com, and the Yelp: Food, Delivery & Reviews app.

• Audience Trends: The website maintained a stable monthly deduplicated audience with over 24M unique visits in December. The true audience was nearly 37M, with a balanced distribution between web and app users.

• App Engagement: The app's monthly active users hovered around 8.9M by December, indicating a solid user base despite slight fluctuations throughout the quarter.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Yelp's monthly ad spend peaked in August at over $5M before tapering off to under $1M in December, focusing heavily on YouTube and Facebook for impressions.

Starbucks

Starbucks leverages its digital channels via starbucks.com and the Starbucks app.

• Audience Trends: The website saw a significant increase in unique visitors in December, reaching nearly 9M. The true monthly deduplicated audience was above 35M, with a noticeable increase in both web and app visitors.

• App Engagement: The app saw a stable monthly active user base with active users exceeding 9M in December, showcasing its importance in Starbucks' digital strategy.

• Ad Spend & Channels: Starbucks’ monthly ad expenditure was highest in December at over $15M, with significant investments in Instagram and OTT channels, capturing substantial audience attention.

Conclusion

The digital landscape for dining and restaurant brands in Q4 2024 was marked by strategic engagement across both web and mobile platforms. McDonald's, Yelp, and Starbucks effectively utilized their digital assets to maintain robust audience interactions. Sensor Tower's comprehensive data offerings provide unparalleled insights into these cross-platform dynamics, essential for understanding consumer behavior in this sector.

For more detailed insights, explore our Web Insights, App Performance Insights, and Pathmatics products.