The Burrito Bubble Burst

Rising costs and shifting consumer habits are putting pressure on fast casual dining favorites like Chipotle.

I have an emotional connection to Burritos.  It is true. One thing that I have realized is the increasing prices of places like Chipotle. What once was a healthier option compared to other fast food, but with the same prices turned into dine-in restaurant price and consumers are noticing. Consumers looked at Chipotle as a cheap option, but also good, clean food. Now they look at it as an overpriced version of its former self with serving sizes going down.

Business Insider said that with the price they are charging consumers should be getting the dine in experience with servers bringing your food to you. What used to be shelling out 11 dollars for a high protein meal, has turned into a 25-dollar meal where portions seem to be going down. Chipotle in their past, had built a quality customer trust where they had a lot of returning customers who felt like Chipotle was not letting them down. Now with the price increases their customers who used to be going multiple times a week, maybe are only going once a month. Now that they are not retaining their own customers as their satisfaction number are plummeting, they are forced to increase their prices. Chipotle has always relied on a young adult customer base as well. Something that is not their fault is that young adults are not going out to eat as much anymore, and if they are they are choosing cheaper fast-food options has their budgets have become tighter.

Chipotle needs to adjust so what their consumers are saying. With young adults needing a more affordable option, Chipotle needs to find a way to get their customer loyalty through something like a rewards program. This would be their best option as this gets their once loyal consumers to want to keep coming back and let them keep getting free food, which is a young adults dream.