1 in 2 Singaporeans rely on social media to find new dining options

43% rely on influencers to know about trendy restaurants.

Over half or 52% of Singaporeans use restaurant profiles on social media to hear about and discover new dining options, surpassed only by personal referrals from friends and family at 71%, a report by SevenRooms revealed.

The purpose of the research was to understand the relationship between venues and consumers. 43% said they use influencers on social media to hear about and discover new dining options. 

Gen Zs over-index on both counts, with 59% relying on restaurants and influencers' social media posts. In Singapore, social media topped Google as a primary discovery channel, which came in at 43% of Gen Zs. 

Despite the substantial reliance on social media for discovery, Singaporeans differ drastically when it comes to how they classify their dining personalities. “Spontaneous diners”, someone who dines out frequently but rarely books ahead, make up 28% of Singaporean diners. “Special occasion diners”, defined as someone who dines out largely for special occasions and who spends ample time researching which venue (and menu) is the perfect fit for the outing, accounts for 23% of the population. 

A further 23% consider themselves a “less is more diner”, someone who has a small handful of go-to venues, rarely deviates from them and always books ahead to ensure the restaurant is ready to welcome them. 

The survey was produced by SevenRooms in partnership with independent consumer research agency Antenna. In total, the research team interviewed 1,021 Singaporeans nationwide aged 18+ between the 10th and 19th of March 2023.