Are consultants blowing smoke? An empirical test of the impact of menu layout on item sales

For years, menu design consultants have asserted that the layout of the items on menus is asociated with item sales. To date, no scientific studies exist either supporting or refuting this assertion. In order to test this relationship we conducted a field experiment in which we tracked the pre‐ and post‐treatment sales of items on a three‐page menu over a period of four months. The treatment consisted of switching the contents of pages 2 and 3 of the menu. The data revealed no significant differences in item sales from time 1 to time 2. Implications for restaurant managers are discussed.