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In the past, Pizza Hut was the top choice for families and friends to enjoy its eat-as-much-as-you-like offering, help-yourself greens station, and ice cream with toppings.

Yet fewer diners are visiting the restaurant nowadays, and it is closing 50% of its British locations after being rescued from insolvency for the second time this calendar year.

I remember going Pizza Hut when I was a child,” explains one London shopper. “It was a tradition, you'd go on a Sunday – spend the whole day there.” Today, in her mid-twenties, she states “it's fallen out of favor.”

For 23-year-old Martina, certain features Pizza Hut has been known and loved for since it started in the UK in the 1970s are now outdated.

“The way they do their buffet and their salad bar, it feels like they are cutting corners and have lower standards... They provide so much food and you're like ‘How can they?’”

Because food prices have risen sharply, Pizza Hut's buffet-style service has become increasingly pricey to operate. As have its locations, which are being reduced from 132 to just over 60.

The chain, in common with competitors, has also experienced its operating costs go up. This spring, employee wages increased due to rises in minimum wages and an rise in employer national insurance contributions.

A couple in their thirties and twenties say they used to go at Pizza Hut for a date “every now and then”, but now they order in a rival chain and think Pizza Hut is “not good value”.

According to your order, Pizza Hut and Domino's costs are similar, explains a food expert.

Although Pizza Hut provides pickup and delivery through delivery platforms, it is falling behind to larger chains which solely cater to the delivery sector.

“Another pizza company has managed to dominate the off-premise pizza industry thanks to aggressive marketing and frequent offers that make consumers feel like they're getting a bargain, when in reality the standard rates are quite high,” explains the analyst.

Yet for these customers it is acceptable to get their evening together brought to their home.

“We definitely eat at home now more than we eat out,” explains Joanne, echoing recent statistics that show a decrease in people visiting casual and fast-food restaurants.

In the warmer season, quick-service eateries saw a 6% drop in diners compared to last summer.

Moreover, another rival to ordered-in pies: the supermarket pizza.

An industry leader, senior partner at a leading firm, points out that not only have supermarkets been offering high-quality oven-ready pizzas for years – some are even selling pizza-making appliances.

“Lifestyle changes are also playing a factor in the performance of quick-service brands,” comments the analyst.

The growing trend of low-carb regimens has increased sales at chicken shops, while hitting sales of dough-based meals, he notes.

Since people visit restaurants more rarely, they may look for a more upscale outing, and Pizza Hut's American-diner style with comfortable booths and red and white checked plastic table cloths can feel more retro than luxurious.

The “explosion of premium pizza outlets” over the last decade and a half, such as boutique chains, has “dramatically shifted the consumer view of what quality pizza is,” notes the culinary analyst.

“A light, fresh, easy-to-digest product with a select ingredients, not the excessively rich, thick and crowded pizzas of the past. That, arguably, is what's resulted in Pizza Hut's downfall,” she comments.

“Who would choose to spend a high price on a small, substandard, disappointing pizza from a franchise when you can get a stunning, expertly crafted Margherita for under a tenner at one of the many real Italian restaurants around the country?

“It's an easy choice.”

A mobile pizza vendor, who operates a small business based in a regional area comments: “People haven’t lost interest in pizza – they just want higher quality at a fair price.”

Dan says his mobile setup can offer high-quality pie at accessible prices, and that Pizza Hut had difficulty because it was unable to evolve with evolving tastes.

According to an independent chain in Bristol, the founder says the industry is diversifying but Pizza Hut has neglected to introduce anything innovative.

“Currently available are individual slices, artisanal styles, New Haven-style, sourdough, traditional Italian, rectangular – it's a delightful challenge for a pizza-loving consumer to discover.”

He says Pizza Hut “needs to reinvent itself” as the youth don't have any fond memories or loyalty to the brand.

In recent years, Pizza Hut's market has been divided and allocated to its trendier, more nimble alternatives. To maintain its high labor and location costs, it would have to raise prices – which experts say is difficult at a time when family finances are tightening.

A senior executive of Pizza Hut's global operations said the acquisition aimed “to ensure our guest experience and save employment where possible”.

The executive stated its key goal was to maintain service at the remaining 64 restaurants and off-premise points and to assist staff through the transition.

However with large sums going into operating its locations, it may be unable to allocate significant resources in its delivery service because the market is “complex and working with existing external services comes at a price”, experts say.

But, he adds, cutting its costs by leaving competitive urban areas could be a good way to adjust.