MRM Research Roundup: Experimentation, Valentine’s Vibe Shift, and Wine Cork Market

26 Min Read By MRM Staff

This edition of Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine's Research Roundup features news of dramatic Valentine's Day shift, best food scenes, and the evolution of c-store foodservice. Year of ExperimentationSquare released insights from its annual Future of Commerce report, providing a unique look at the restaurant, retail and beauty industries across the US, Canada, UK, and Australia.

The research found that businesses worldwide – particularly restaurants – intend to experiment more in 2025, especially with customer retention programs like loyalty, as they face the triple challenge of sustained high inflation, shrinking consumer wallets and the need to raise prices across the board. These experiments, largely rooted in technology solutions, will be focused on increasing their efficiency while also deepening their customer relationships.

Connecting with the consumer through loyalty programs and better customer data is a key focus for operators – more than seven…