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At one time, Pizza Hut was the top choice for families and friends to indulge in its all-you-can-eat buffet, unlimited salad bar, and make-your-own dessert.

However not as many diners are frequenting the chain currently, and it is shutting down half of its UK outlets after being acquired following financial trouble for the second instance this year.

I remember going Pizza Hut when I was a child,” says a young adult. “It was a regular outing, you'd go on a Sunday – turn it into an event.” Today, as a young adult, she says “it's fallen out of favor.”

For young customer Martina, some of the very things Pizza Hut has been recognized for since it opened in the UK in the 1970s are now less appealing.

“The way they do their all-you-can-eat and their salad bar, it feels like they are cheapening on their quality and have inferior offerings... They offer so much food and you're like ‘How can they?’”

As food prices have soared, Pizza Hut's buffet-style service has become quite costly to run. As have its locations, which are being cut from 132 to just over 60.

The chain, like many others, has also faced its expenses go up. In April this year, staffing costs rose due to higher minimum pay and an rise in employer social security payments.

A couple in their thirties and twenties mention they would often visit at Pizza Hut for a date “every now and then”, but now they choose a rival chain and think Pizza Hut is “too expensive”.

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

While Pizza Hut has pickup and delivery through third-party apps, it is missing out to larger chains which focus exclusively to this market.

“Another pizza company has succeeded in leading the takeaway pizza sector thanks to aggressive marketing and frequent offers that make shoppers feel like they're finding a good deal, when in reality the standard rates are on the higher side,” notes the expert.

But for Chris and Joanne it is justified to get their special meal sent directly.

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

In the warmer season, informal dining venues saw a 6% drop in diners compared to the year before.

There is also one more competitor to pizza from eateries: the supermarket pizza.

Will Hawkley, global lead for leisure at a leading firm, points out that not only have supermarkets been offering good-standard oven-ready pizzas for years – some are even offering home-pizza ovens.

“Lifestyle changes are also contributing in the success of fast-food chains,” comments the analyst.

The rising popularity of low-carb regimens has boosted sales at chicken shops, while affecting sales of high-carbohydrate options, he adds.

As people visit restaurants more rarely, they may prefer a more premium experience, and Pizza Hut's American-diner style with booth seating and red and white checked plastic table cloths can feel more dated than upmarket.

The “explosion of high-quality pizzerias” over the last decade and a half, including boutique chains, has “fundamentally changed the consumer view of what quality pizza is,” explains the industry commentator.

“A crisp, airy, digestible pizza with a select ingredients, not the massively greasy, heavy and overloaded pizzas of the past. That, I think, is what's resulted in Pizza Hut's decline,” she states.

“What person would spend nearly eighteen pounds on a modest, low-quality, underwhelming pizza from a large brand when you can get a gorgeous, skillfully prepared Margherita for less than ten pounds at one of the many authentic Italian pizzerias around the country?

“The decision is simple.”

Dan Puddle, who operates a pizza van based in a county in England comments: “People haven’t lost interest in pizza – they just want improved value.”

He says his adaptable business can offer premium pizza at accessible prices, and that Pizza Hut had difficulty because it failed to adapt with evolving tastes.

From the perspective of an independent chain in a UK location, the founder says the sector is diversifying but Pizza Hut has neglected to introduce anything new.

“Currently available are individual slices, artisanal styles, thin crust, fermented dough, Neapolitan, Detroit – it's a delightful challenge for a pie fan to explore.”

Jack says Pizza Hut “must rebrand” as younger people don't have any emotional connection or attachment to the brand.

In recent years, Pizza Hut's market has been divided and distributed to its fresher, faster rivals. To keep up its expensive staffing and restaurants, it would have to charge more – which commentators say is difficult at a time when family finances are tightening.

The managing director of Pizza Hut's international markets said the acquisition aimed “to safeguard our guest experience and retain staff where possible”.

He said its immediate priority was to maintain service at the surviving locations and delivery sites and to help employees through the restructure.

However with significant funds going into operating its locations, it likely can't afford to invest too much in its off-premise division because the market is “complicated and using existing external services comes at a cost”, experts say.

But, he adds, lowering overhead by withdrawing from crowded locations could be a effective strategy to adapt.