More burger for your buck! His Boy Elroy is one of the Illawarra businesses exploring discounts to attract off-peak visitation. Photo: His Boy Elroy.
Illawarra hospitality businesses are adapting to changes in the region’s dining scene by finding opportunities to boost off-peak periods and meet the needs of customers who are dictating decisions based on the current economic climate.
His Boy Elroy has been a popular hospitality staple in Wollongong for more than a decade but its continued success has relied on keeping a finger on the pulse of the community.
“It’s a completely different landscape and what a lot of business owners need to realise, especially in the food business, is that customers will dictate what they want; it’s not necessarily businesses dictating what customers should have,” His Boy Elroy owner Lachlan Stevens said.
“So if our customers are saying that they are willing to forgo a peak period to get a meal in favour of a discount then we have to provide that for them.”
An analysis by EatClub using its national hospitality insights and the Wollongong City Council Economic Insights Report shows that while the LGA’s restaurant spending increased by 17 per cent last year, cafe spending declined by 7.5 per cent over the same period.
The local data reflects a nationwide shift by customers who are becoming more conscious of value, timing and experience.
“One of the clearest shifts we’re seeing in Wollongong is that people still want to dine out, but they’re becoming more strategic about how and when they do it,” EatClub CEO and co-founder Pan Koutlakis said.
“Whether it’s dinner with friends, a family meal or trying somewhere new, people are making smarter choices about where they dine so they can keep enjoying the experiences they love.”
Lachlan has seen how the cost of living crunch has impacted customers, and while tech such as UberEats and DoorDash may improve accessibility, these don’t offer the whole experience of His Boy Elroy.
“We pride ourselves on our experience in store and that experience goes beyond food – it’s customer service, it’s the environment, it’s what we do for our community – and getting customers in store rather than eating takeaway at home is certainly how we want people to consume our products,” he said.
“We know our customers want to come out and visit us, but they need to have their dollars and cents stretch a little bit further.”
The hospitality sector plays an important role in Wollongong’s economic landscape with accommodation and food services generating more than $700 million each year and representing 10.8 per cent of Wollongong businesses.
“Hospitality has become an important part of Wollongong’s economic identity,” Pan said.
“The continued growth we’re seeing across restaurants shows demand for dining out remains strong. Local restaurants, cafes and bars are not only creating great experiences for diners, they’re also supporting employment, tourism and the broader vibrancy of the city.”
While the report also highlights the opportunities in the night-time economy, through using EatClub, His Boy Elroy has discovered potential for its off-peak and quieter times by offering discounts to help attract those who are more focused on price to discover everything that the restaurant has to offer.
“The biggest learning from our perspective is that we can reach a new market, a more price sensitive market, that might’ve otherwise been going somewhere else,” Lachlan said.
“Once we reach that new audience base it’s about building relationships in store with the customers and then converting them over to regular customers.
“So we might give away a discount on the front end but there’s a compounding effect if we can convert them into a regular customer.
“In a market like Wollongong, the most successful businesses survive on repeat visitation – we don’t have the density of population as say the Sydney CBD, so we need to show that really great experience beyond food to our customers and demonstrate our commitment to them for them to demonstrate their commitment to us.”
Discounts for His Boy Elroy and other Wollongong venues are available on the EatClub website.
