An analysis of the Dutch Fast Food consumer behaviour

Accurat is a leader in consumer behaviour insights, and near real-time evolutions. We did an analysis of the Dutch fast food market in 2024 and we found some surprising results. We focused on chains like McDonald’s, Burger King, Domino’s, New York Pizza, and KFC. We also uncovered trends in weekly dining times, and how long people stay at these restaurants. Additionally, we pitched in a portion about the differences in customer behaviour in urban fast food restaurants vs. those by the motorway.

Visit Share

Visit share is one of our key metrics, acting as our equivalent of market share. It shows the percentage of visits a brand captures compared to its competitors, offering insight into brand equity, popularity, and market dynamics. Additionally, we track this metric near real-time enabling us to monitor market evolutions very closely. Unsurprisingly, McDonald’s dominates the Dutch fast food market with an average visit share of 49% this year. Domino’s Pizza follows with 19%, closely trailed by New York Pizza at 14%. The remaining share is split between Burger King and KFC.

Visit Share per restaurant

McDonald’s leads the Dutch fast food market with the highest visit share and 263 burger restaurants. However, pizza chains Domino’s Pizza and New York Pizza outnumber McDonald’s in locations, operating 379 and 292 restaurants respectively.

When looking at visit share per restaurant, McDonald’s stands out with a visit share per location of 38%, making it the most popular chain overall by far. In contrast, Domino’s and New York Pizza lag behind at 10%, likely due to their strong focus on delivery services rather than in-restaurant visits. On the other hand, when looking at visit share per restaurant KFC and Burger King outperform their overall visit share, showing that their smaller restaurant portfolios still attract good numbers of visitors per location.

What’s the busiest hour in the fast food industry?

The busiest day of the week in fast food is Sunday with 20% of the weekly visits. Friday and Saturday are close contenders for the busiest day of the week. People also come earlier on Sundays and the peak hour is between 17h and 18h. On all other days, the peak hour is between 18h and 19h. The busiest lunch time of the week is on Sunday.

Monday and Tuesdays are the least popular days to go eat at a fast food restaurant, with a combined visit share lower than that of Sunday alone. The weekdays get progressively busier during the week with the visits reaching a zenith on Sunday.

Measuring the ‘fast’ in fast food: How long is the average visit?

The average visit in the Dutch Fast Food restaurants is 32.5 minutes long. The fastest turnover rate of all fast food restaurants is that of McDonald’s, with an average dwell time of 31.4 minutes. McDonald's is trailed by New York Pizza and Domino’s Pizza by a very small margin. KFC and Burger King are the slower restaurants in terms of customer turnover rate, with Burger King being the slowest with 34.6 minutes average dwell time. The discrepancy in dwell times between the 2 burger restaurants is noteworthy as they have similar businesses and business models.

Who’s the fastest?

When it comes to speed, New York Pizza and Domino's Pizza lead the pack, with 67% of their customers completing their visit within the first 30 minutes. Over 40% of their clientele leaves within the first 15 minutes. This fast turnover reflects their focus on takeout and delivery services. In contrast, brands like KFC (61%), McDonald's (60%), and Burger King (57%) see a slower flow of customers, likely due to more dine-in experiences or extended service times. The data confirms that the pizza-focused brands dominate the quick-service category. McDonald’s also has the fewest customers who stay longer than an hour in one visit.

Conclusion

McDonald’s captures 49% of all fast-food visits in the Netherlands, far surpassing its most direct competitor Burger King. McDonald’s achieves an impressive visit share per restaurant of 38%, compared to 21% for Burger King showcasing the strength of its dine-in model.

Sunday is the busiest day of the week for fast food restaurants, with peak hours from 17:00 to 18:00 (earlier than other days). Sundays attract 20% of the weekly visits. The daily visits increase progressively throughout the week, with Monday and Tuesday combined accounting for fewer visits than Sunday alone.

New York Pizza and Domino’s Pizza boast the fastest turnover, with 67% of visits completed in under 30 minutes and over 40% leaving within 15 minutes, highlighting their takeaway and delivery-driven business models. Burger King has the slowest turnover at 34.6 minutes per visit, a notable contrast to McDonald’s 31.4 minutes, signalling potential inefficiencies or longer dine-in stays.