For years, franchise success hinged on location and legacy. Get the right spot, build a trusted name, and customers will follow. That formula isn’t as strong as it used to be. Today’s consumers expect convenience, connection, and customization at every touchpoint.
When brands rely on old assumptions in a digital-first world, they fall behind consumer expectations, fueling a growing experience gap that threatens long-term loyalty. According to LT’s 2025 Franchise Trends Report, closing it requires more than good real estate. It demands a reimagined, data-driven customer experience.
Consistency and trust might sound like they go hand-in-hand, but consumers tell a different story. While 47% of consumers believe consistency from national brands is important, only 12% actually prefer to buy from franchises over local businesses, according to LT’s Franchise Report. What does this mean? Consumers want the consistent, reliable service that franchises offer, but tend to trust businesses that feel localized, authentic, and community-driven.
This requires franchises, and especially franchisees, to strike a balance between meeting corporate brand standards and local adaptation. While it’s a fine line, the benefits of localized flexibility and community engagement outweigh the comfort of over-standardization.
Building trust through localized messaging isn’t enough to win consumers over. Personalization and customizable experiences are becoming increasingly desired, which requires franchises to understand their audiences and adapt across channels more than ever.
Based on LT’s report, consumers can be categorized by three primary drivers: consistency, value, and digital experiences. These drivers make up the following personas.
The Consistency Crusader
This consumer is loyalty-driven and prefers national brands for reliability, familiarity, and quality, especially when it comes to food & beverage and retail.
The Digital Native
Tech-savvy and digital-first, this consumer uses social media and AI tools to discover and vet new brands. Even though they’re still budget-conscious, they’re willing to invest more when a brand’s digital experience enhances convenience, personalization, and reliability.
The Value Hunter
A budget-aware, strategic consumer who looks for the biggest bang for their buck. They’re loyal to national brands when affordability and convenience are consistently offered.
When it comes to appealing to younger audiences, franchises need to look at their digital offerings and cultural appeal. According to LT’s findings, 77% of Gen Z and 65% of Millennial consumers use social media to find local businesses, compared to just 28% of Boomers.
But the digital experience doesn’t stop at social media alone. 55% of Gen Z intentionally use AI tools as a discovery method, compared to 13% of Boomers. Gen Z and Millennials also go out of their way to support brands that promote transparency and authenticity, reinforcing the importance of trust and “local” feel as drivers.
While younger generations want transparency and digital-first experiences, Gen X and Boomers have different expectations. 67% of Boomers rely on search engines for brand discovery, compared to only 24% of Gen Z, based on LT’s research.
Even though older generations might fall behind in new tech adoption, they still want seamless digital options–whether that comes in the form of apps, online ordering options, or loyalty programs. Tech aside, Gen X and Boomers will show loyalty when they see value and consistency from brands.
Knowing your audience and their digital preferences can change the way your brand creates and releases content. Not sure where to begin? That's where LT comes in as a trusted digital media expert, social media manager, and SEO strategist, helping you reach the right consumers with the right channels.
The franchises that win are the ones that combine local relevance and community feel with national-level infrastructure. This balance gives your consumers the best of both worlds. In fact, 42% of organizations that employ strict standards are more likely to be significantly impacted by economic pressures, compared to 21% that focus on local adaptations, based on LT’s report.
National Strengths
Franchises should continue to leverage key resources like technology platforms, centralized marketing, and advanced data analytics to support their efforts in audience research, outreach, and awareness.
Local strengths
On the local side, franchisees benefit from marketing that feels localized. This establishes that sense of trust between consumers and national brands.
For Basecamp, the franchisors for the retail resale brands Kid to Kid and Uptown Cheapskate, LT developed and executed location-specific digital marketing that saw nearly double the performance of non-LT managed campaigns year-over-year.
The gap and alignment between consumers and franchisors aren’t always clear until trends are broken down and compared side-by-side. Here are the patterns LT’s research revealed.
What consumers value most
What franchisors often prioritize
Ultimately, the consumer-franchisor gap comes down to a misalignment between operators’ internal KPIs and the reality of consumers’ needs. Instead of looking at what other franchisors are investing in and prioritizing, operators need to look at their consumer data as their primary guidepost. Leveraging unified systems (CRM, loyalty, POS, etc.) allows franchisors to maintain consistency while feeding localized insights into marketing initiatives.
While consumers expect omnichannel, seamless journeys, franchises continue to rely on outdated or fragmented tech stacks (e.g., POS, loyalty, non-integrated CRM). This fragmentation limits visibility into customer behavior, weakening brand consistency across locations.
Leading franchises are closing the gap by adopting unified platforms that connect data, automate insights, and enable personalization at scale, treating technology not as a cost center, but as a driver of smarter decisions and stronger customer relationships.
LT’s insights might suggest localization, but only 36% of franchisors encourage local adaptation where needed. Unless franchisees are given the autonomy to adapt, they’ll struggle to authentically connect with their community. These are just a few examples of how franchisees can get caught between corporate mandates and local realities.
Based on LT’s research, 47% of franchise executives say marketing support is what influences the franchise/franchisee relationship more than any other factor. When it comes to exploring impactful marketing tactics that strengthen relationships and franchisee flexibility, LT can act as a strategic partner, bolstering connections and community impact from franchises while remaining true to the brand.
The “franchise experience gap” exists across consumer desires, tech maturity, and even franchisee relationships. So, how do operators make the move to close it?
Invest in Scalable, Unified Technology
What loyalty, CRM, mobile, and ordering platforms are you offering to your consumers? Are you delivering the seamless guest experience that they’re asking for?
Empower Local Operators
How can you give your franchisees the tools and autonomy to tailor experiences to their community without breaking brand standards?
Align KPIs with Consumer Experience
Yes, cost efficiency matters. But are you measuring and actually considering consumer satisfaction, digital adoption, and local engagement?
Bridge Marketing and Operations
How do you ensure promises made in marketing campaigns match on-the-ground experiences and keep customers loyal?
Innovate for the Future
How are you exploring AI-driven personalization, predictive analytics for local offers, and loyalty ecosystems that span physical and digital experiences?
Making moves to bridge these gaps can feel daunting, expensive, and maybe even a little risky, especially as the gap widens. That’s why having the right partner by your side is critical, from research and development to launch.
At LT, we’ve helped franchise and retail brands succeed by increasing sales, physical and digital traffic, customer satisfaction, and loyalty program memberships. Ready to mend the gaps holding your franchise back? Get in touch to get started.