Pizza eaters don’t like changing up their routines. That’s one big takeaway from a recent study released by Datassential.

In a survey of over 1,000 consumers conducted between December and January, Datassential found that 96% of consumers’ last pizza order was from an establishment they’d already been to before. Similarly, 89% of consumers said the last pizza they had was a variety they’d already tried before.

The findings can be viewed as a vote for doubling down on core competencies rather than trying to be everything to everyone. Most consumers already have a pattern established and will want to eat a pizzeria’s tried-and-true pies rather than try something off the beaten path.

Related: This Top-Rated Pizzeria Says It Doesn’t Serve Pizza At All

The survey had some more interesting findings, including:

  • 66% of consumers had eaten pizza within the past week, with only 8% saying they hadn’t had pizza in over a month.
  • 87% of consumers were eating more or the same amount of pizza as the year prior. Just 13% said they’d decreased their pizza consumption.
  • 55% of consumers last had pizza from a chain pizza restaurant. This was significantly more likely in the younger demographics, with 64% of millennials and 61% of Gen Z saying their last pizza came from a chain.
  • 25% said they’d had their last pizza from a local pizza restaurant. Other categories included a sit-down restaurant (10%), a convenience store (5%), a grocery store prepared foods (4%) or other (2%).
  • 48% of consumers said they were enrolled in a loyalty program while 52% said they were not. Boomers were much more likely to not be enrolled in a pizza loyalty program (69 %) while Millennials (61%) were most likely to be enrolled.
  • 43% of consumers say they will order more pizza than needed for a single meal in order to have leftovers.

Datassential’s survey also sought to find out what the next “pizza mega trend” will be, by evaluating consumer interest in certain areas versus how many pizzerias were offering such a product. Datassential identified three things with demand that were not yet saturated in the market.

A chart, created by Datassential, showing 10 different pizza trends categorized by consumer demand versus availability in the market.

Source: Datassential

  • Stuffed-crust pizza is something 48% of consumers were interested in; just 21% of operators said they offer stuffed-crust pizza.
  • 44% of consumers said they’d like to try artisanal pizza, while just 30 percent of operators said they offer it. (What qualifies as “artisanal pizza” goes undefined in the survey).
  • Italian street food is something 36% of consumers were interested in, while just 22 percent of operators said they offer it.

Are one of those three things the next big thing? It’s an open question, but one that Datassential will presumably be following closely.

Marketing