EatClub joins CommBank app to fill quieter dining periods

EatClub has partnered with CommBank to bring dining offers to users of the bank's app, extending EatClub's reach to 8.8 million Australians.

The move comes as restaurants face continued pressure from higher costs, uneven trading patterns and weaker consumer spending, prompting more operators to use software that targets quieter service periods.

Over the past 12 months, EatClub said it filled more than 5.5 million restaurant tables that might otherwise have remained empty during off-peak periods. The new bank channel could help restaurants attract more diners by matching offers to real-time demand.

The partnership will sit within CommBank's broader offers ecosystem in the banking app, which records more than 14 million daily logins.

For EatClub, the deal also expands distribution at a time when it is seeking to grow its network. The company operates in Australia and the UK, works with more than 5,000 restaurant partners and has recorded more than two million app downloads.

Hospitality operators have been looking for ways to protect margins without cutting prices across all trading periods. Data cited by EatClub points to ongoing strain in the food and beverage industry, which continues to face elevated failure rates.

Pan Koutlakis, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of EatClub, said the focus was on filling spare capacity rather than discounting busy periods.

"This initiative represents a major opportunity for restaurants looking for smarter customer acquisition channels to fill quieter trading periods without relying on broad-based discounting.

"EatClub leverages booking patterns, historical trading data and real-time demand signals to pinpoint underutilised trading periods. This enables our restaurant partners to attract diners when they have capacity to spare, driving incremental revenue in a highly targeted and efficient way.

"Right now, a restaurant can be half empty at 5pm and turning customers away at 7pm, all while charging the same price. Our technology helps solve that imbalance. Together with CommBank, we've embarked on a program that brings this capability to millions of Australians who dine out every week, delivering direct bottom-line benefits to our restaurant partners.

"The concept is similar to the yield management models that airlines and hotels have used successfully for decades. The goal isn't simply to offer discounts; it's to better match demand with available capacity and generate revenue from tables that might otherwise sit empty.

"This is a genuine win-win. Diners gain access to great restaurants at better value when they're flexible with timing, while venues can fill more tables during quieter periods without eroding margins through blanket discounting. With CommBank's scale and digital reach, it is a natural partner to help bring this vision to life," he said.

Joel Larsen, Executive General Manager, Consumer Finance at CommBank, outlined the bank's position on the arrangement.

"CommBank already offers customers access to discounts and offers across banking, shopping and travel through CommBank Yello. Working with EatClub is another way we're looking to help our customers get more value and save money," Larsen said.

Dining shifts

Alongside the partnership announcement, EatClub outlined a set of dining trends drawn from activity across its network. The data suggests the traditional dinner peak is becoming less dominant, while earlier dining occasions are gaining share.

According to the figures, the 6 pm to 7 pm window fell from 53 per cent to 49 per cent of bookings over the past year. By contrast, bookings between 3 pm and 5 pm rose from 30 per cent to 34 per cent, while diners eating before 6 pm increased by 12 per cent.

That shift has implications for staffing, pricing and promotions. Restaurants that once focused almost entirely on the evening rush may now need to rethink how to use the late afternoon and early evening.

The data also suggests midweek remains a weak point for many venues. Monday was identified as the quietest trading night, even though Monday to Thursday accounted for 51 per cent of all dine-in occasions across the platform.

That gap between available capacity and actual demand is central to the case for demand-led restaurant tools. If operators can improve covers on quieter weekday services, even by a modest amount, the effect on weekly revenue can be meaningful.

Changing customers

Booking patterns also point to a change in party size. Solo dining rose from 26.6 per cent to 30.2 per cent of bookings over the past year, meaning nearly one in three reservations is now for one person.

Tables of two remained the largest category, but their share declined from 49 per cent to 46 per cent. The trend suggests operators may need to reconsider seating layouts and the way they structure offers for smaller groups.

EatClub also said several cuisines had outperformed the platform's overall growth, including Chinese, Korean, Modern Australian, Japanese and Middle Eastern. The company said this data can help venues assess menu changes, positioning and expansion plans.

EatClub claims venues on its network see an average 10-fold uplift during targeted off-peak windows, equivalent to about a 12 per cent increase in annual revenue. It also said active users save more than $330 a year on dining and eat out 70 per cent more often, increasing spending across the category.

EatClub was co-founded by Pan Koutlakis and Marco Pierre White. It recently completed an oversubscribed AUD $27 million pre-Series B raise.