All-you-can-eat wings drive spike in traffic for Buffalo Wild Wings

The $20 offer is in effect Mondays and Wednesdays for a limited time. | Photo: Shutterstock

It’s been less than a month, but Buffalo Wild Wings’ all-you-can-eat chicken wing deal already seems to be a big hit.

Customers flocked to the full-service wing chain on the days the promotion was offered, increasing traffic by up to 74% and ending a long streak of slow business.

That’s according to data released Thursday by Placer.ai, which tracks consumer foot traffic.

The deal launched May 13 gives customers endless boneless wings and fries for $19.99 when they dine-in on Mondays and Wednesdays for a limited time.

Over the last three Mondays in May, Buffalo Wild Wings’ traffic increased 30%, 40% and 56% compared to that day’s average, Placer.ai found. Prior to this, the channel had experienced negative traffic every Monday dating back to at least March 4.

And on the last three Wednesdays of the month, the channel’s traffic exceeded the average by 50.5%, 74% and 37%, ending a similar negative trend.

Placer.ai said the deal is one of the most successful drive-in tours it has seen in casual dining in some time. “It wouldn’t be a surprise to see other channels introduce similar limited-time promotions in the near future,” RJ Hottovy, head of analytics research for Placer.ai, said in a statement.

Buffalo Wild Wings took a big risk with the bottomless offer, which is similar to the $20 Endless Shrimp deal that helped push Red Lobster out of business. The shrimp proposition boosted traffic but cost Red Lobster $11 million in a single quarter.

Rather than avoid the comparison to Red Lobster, B-Dubs used it as a marketing ploy, asking fans on social media to “please don’t put us out of business” while promoting the ‘agreement.

Value in the form of discounts and promotions has become a key strategy in the industry recently, as brands across segments seek to attract inflation-weary consumers.

And while Endless Wings proved to be a powerful draw for Buffalo Wild Wings, it’s unclear what kind of impact it had on the chain’s bottom line. He did not respond Thursday to a question about the profitability of the operation.

The Atlanta-based chain struggled last year, with U.S. systemwide sales up just 0.5% despite unit growth of 1.8%, according to Technomic data.

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