Will Limited-Time Offers Increase as a Restaurant Trend Throughout 2025 and Beyond?

One thing is evident: When it comes to restaurant tactics in recent years, the limited-time offer (LTO) has gone from a once-in-a-while marketing tool to something of an explosive (and constant) trend in the business overall.

C-Store Dive reporter Aneurin Canham-Clyne shared comments made by Joe Pawlak, a managing principal at Technomic, during the 2025 National Restaurant Association Show held on May 26.

“Over the past 14 to 15 months sales are soft, traffic is down, costs are going up,” Pawlak said. "Uncertainty around tariffs, from a consumer standpoint, has really spooked consumer confidence.”

Pawlak shared slides outlining the significant uptick in limited-time offers observed by Technomic as of late — a surge that saw 17,790 such offers put forth by restaurants just five years ago (in 2020), while last year, that figure swelled to more than double, coming in at 36,830.

Aside from the pressure exerted both on U.S. consumers and restaurants themselves by both persistent inflation and fluctuating tariff policy, the restaurant business itself is extremely competitive. According to senior director of consumer research at Technomic, Robert Byrne, successful restaurant brands need to impress cash-strapped customers. One statistic conjured up by Byrne confounds this quest further: Technomic estimates that there is a standalone restaurant for every 425 Americans.

Enter the Limited-Time Offer, Hinged Around 'Craveables' as Restaurants Compete for Customers

Canham-Clyne broke down the numbers related to the particulars of limited-time offers on consumer eating and spending habits concerning the restaurant segment — and in particular, the central concept of "craveability," itself a vague metric that each diner has to decide upon for themselves, even if popular choices reign.

• In 2022, half (50%) of those polled by Technomic said LTOs were a major factor in deciding where to dine. By early 2025, that number had improved to 55%.
• Nearly three-quarters (74%) spoke to the importance of craveables on the menu when deciding on a restaurant in 2022, a figure that trended upward to 78% earlier this year.
• New and exciting menu offerings were close behind craveables on the same subject, with 62% of respondents indicating as much in 2022 and 68% as of 2025.

Meat — preferably at least two kinds of proteins in one dish — topped what consumers deemed to be craveable. Miller's Ale House's Honey Bourbon Salmon and Shrimp meal took top awards, followed by Burger King's Maple Bourbon BBQ Whopper. Taco Bell also received special mention from Byrne, who underscored the success of the Mexican-inspired fast-food chain's reintroduction of its chicken nuggets as emblematic of an LTO that paid off, with Taco Bell considering making the nuggets a permanent fixture on its menu board.

But the value proposition remains a constant for choosy U.S. diners as well. Value can take many forms, as Byrne noted, with Chili's driving 21% traffic growth not only due to its Three-for-Me deal (priced at an attractive $10.99, putting it in competition with fast-food restaurants) but also its full-service experience, Wi-Fi on premises, and music selection.

Regardless of whether diners lean more heavily toward craveable items — particularly when paired with a scarcity-mindset-inducing LTO call to action on their part — or toward the complete value proposition, it seems that the restaurant business remains as crowded as ever, with entrants being called upon to innovate or be left behind.