Key takeaway: A quick-service restaurant chain’s Valpak campaign, mailed to 1.7 million households in a regional footprint, generated more than $1.18 million in incremental sales and a 54.58X incremental return on ad spend (iROAS), according to an independent ABCS Insights study. Guests who received the mailing spent 3.63% more per order than a matched control group, and the campaign drove 35,580 incremental restaurant visits at $2.05 per incremental visitor.
There’s a common worry about restaurant coupons: hand guests a deal and they’ll spend less. This campaign went the other direction. The households that got the mailing didn’t trade down. They ordered more.
Fast Food Campaign Results: Sales, Ticket Size and Foot Traffic
| Metric | Result |
| Incremental ROAS | 54.58X ($54.58 in sales per $1 invested) |
| Incremental sales | More than $1.18 million |
| Incremental purchases | 78,701 |
| Sales per buying occasion (average ticket) | +3.63% vs. control, about $0.53 more per order (3.3X the QSR category norm of 1.09%) |
| Sales per buyer | +3.45% vs. control (category norm: 1.52%) |
| Average sales per household | +5.97% vs. control (category norm: 10.26%) |
| Household penetration | +2.44% vs. control (category norm: 8.74%) |
| Restaurant trips per consumer | +2.25% vs. control (restaurant foot traffic norm: 2.85%) |
| Incremental visits | 35,580 |
| Cost per incremental visitor | $2.05 |
| Households reached | 1.7 million, one drop (frequency of 1) |
| Campaign length | About nine weeks, spring 2026 |
Do Fast-Food Coupons Lower the Average Check?
Not here. Sales per buying occasion, the receipt-level version of average ticket, rose 3.63% among households that received the mailing. That’s about $0.53 more per order, and 3.3X what QSR campaigns typically produce on that metric. Sales per buyer climbed 3.45%, more than double its category norm.
For a quick-service operator, a few cents per order matters more than it looks. It shows up on every transaction, and it suggests the offer brought guests in without pulling down what they ordered.
Where the Lift Came From, and Where It Didn’t
Average sales per household rose 5.97%, significant at 99% confidence. That trails the QSR category norm of 10.26%, and the reason is in the drivers. Household penetration rose 2.44%, below its norm, and purchase frequency held flat (-0.18%). Penetration still contributed, but the larger share of the gain came from what buyers spent: 3.45% more per buyer, almost entirely through bigger orders.
ABCS points out that flat frequency is common when a campaign reaches new or light buyers, who order less often than regulars to begin with.
How Much Does It Cost to Drive a Visit to a Fast-Food Restaurant?
In this campaign, $2.05. ABCS measured restaurant visits separately from receipts and found 10,559 incremental visitors, people who came in because of the mailing rather than out of habit, who made 35,580 incremental visits during the measurement window. Exposed consumers made 2.25% more trips than the control group, just under the restaurant foot traffic norm. Our sporting goods case study explains how cost per incremental visitor is calculated.
For a quick-service chain, those visits come with a ticket attached, and in this campaign, a bigger one than usual.
How Did ABCS Measure Sales and Foot Traffic?
ABCS Insights used two panels. Purchases were tracked through a receipt panel of 338,840 households, and restaurant visits through a location panel of 654,772 consumers. In both, households that received the mailing were compared with a matched control group, balanced on a full year of pre-campaign category purchases plus age, gender, household income and geography.
The campaign ran about nine weeks, and measurement continued roughly two weeks past its end. Return on ad spend was calculated against total campaign investment.
Why Does a Regional Mail Drop Work for Quick-Service Restaurants?
Valpak coupon users are:
- 142% more likely to order breakfast from a fast-food chain
- 110% more likely to have restaurant food delivered
- 95% more likely to eat at a restaurant or order takeout
- 18% more likely to eat fast food at least twice a week
And they spend 14% more than the average U.S. household at fast-food restaurants.
Fast-food decisions are local and quick, usually made close to home. A regional drop puts the offer in homes around the restaurants that can actually serve them, so the mailing’s reach lines up with the chain’s footprint instead of spilling into markets with no location nearby.
Three Lessons for Quick-Service Marketers
- An offer doesn’t have to shrink the ticket. In this campaign, guests who got the mailing spent more per order, not less. Track average ticket alongside redemptions before assuming a deal cost you margin.
- Regional budgets can be measured like national ones. A 1.7-million-household campaign got the same test-vs-control sales and foot traffic study a national brand would, with a clear incremental number at the end.
- Know which lever moved. This campaign grew check size; household penetration trailed the norm. That points to the next test: wider reach or a second drop to bring in more first-time guests.
Frequently Asked Questions
What return did the quick-service chain get from its Valpak campaign?
The regional campaign returned a 54.58X incremental ROAS, or $54.58 in incremental sales for every $1 invested, and generated more than $1.18 million in incremental sales, according to an ABCS Insights test-vs-control study.
Do fast-food coupons lower the average check?
Not in this study. Households that received a Valpak mailing spent 3.63% more per order than a matched control group, about $0.53 more per visit and 3.3X the QSR category norm for that metric.
How much does it cost to drive an incremental visit to a fast-food restaurant?
In this ABCS Insights study, a regional Valpak campaign drove 10,559 incremental visitors at a cost per incremental visitor of $2.05, along with 35,580 incremental visits.
Does direct mail increase fast-food foot traffic?
In this study, consumers who received the mailing made 2.25% more restaurant trips than a matched control group, adding up to 35,580 incremental visits during the measurement window.
Why can purchase frequency stay flat when restaurant sales rise?
ABCS Insights notes that purchase occasions can look flat or slightly negative when a campaign attracts new or light buyers, because those guests buy less often than regulars. In this study, frequency held flat while spend per order and sales per buyer rose.
How was the campaign measured?
ABCS Insights compared households that received the mailing with a matched control group, balanced on a year of pre-campaign category purchases and demographics. Sales were tracked through a receipt panel of 338,840 households and restaurant visits through a panel of 654,772 consumers.
Sources
- ABCS Insights, Valpak Quick-Service Restaurant Sales Effect and Foot Traffic Report (Sept. 2026). Test vs. matched control, matched on 12 months of pre-period category sales and demographics. Nine-week spring 2026 campaign; measured approximately two weeks past campaign end. 1.7M households reached; frequency 1.0. Sales: N=338,840 households (receipt panel). Foot traffic: N=654,772. Norms: ABCS QSR and Retailer/Restaurant Foot Traffic. Average sales per household lift significant at 99% confidence.
- 2026 AudienceSCAN® study of U.S. online adults 18+, SalesFuel, Inc.
- Claritas data with current year projections, October 2026
