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At one time, Pizza Hut was the favorite for groups and loved ones to feast on its eat-as-much-as-you-like offering, unlimited salad bar, and self-serve ice-cream.

However a declining number of customers are choosing the chain currently, and it is shutting down 50% of its British outlets after being bought out of administration for the second occasion this year.

I remember going Pizza Hut when I was a child,” explains a young adult. “It was a tradition, you'd go on a Sunday – spend the whole day there.” But now, as a young adult, she comments “it's fallen out of favor.”

In the view of 23-year-old Martina, certain features Pizza Hut has been known and loved for since it opened in the UK in the seventies are now less appealing.

“The way they do their buffet and their salad bar, it seems as if they are cutting corners and have lower standards... They offer so much food and you're like ‘How is that possible?’”

Because grocery costs have risen sharply, Pizza Hut's all-you-can-eat model has become quite costly to run. As have its restaurants, which are being cut from over 130 to 64.

The company, like many others, has also experienced its expenses go up. In April this year, employee wages rose due to higher minimum pay and an higher rate of employer national insurance contributions.

Chris, 36, and Joanne, 29 explain they frequently dined at Pizza Hut for a date “from time to time”, but now they choose a rival chain and think Pizza Hut is “not good value”.

Depending on your choices, Pizza Hut and Domino's rates are close, notes an industry analyst.

Even though Pizza Hut has off-premise options through delivery platforms, it is falling behind to larger chains which focus exclusively to off-premise dining.

“Domino's has succeeded in leading the off-premise pizza industry thanks to intensive advertising and constantly running deals that make consumers feel like they're finding a good deal, when in reality the standard rates are quite high,” says the analyst.

Yet for the couple it is acceptable to get their special meal brought to their home.

“We definitely eat at home now rather than we eat out,” says one of the diners, matching current figures that show a decline in people visiting quick-service eateries.

Over the summer, quick-service eateries saw a 6% drop in customers compared to last summer.

Moreover, another rival to restaurant and takeaway pizzas: the cook-at-home oven pizza.

Will Hawkley, global lead for leisure at a major consultancy, points out that not only have retailers been offering premium oven-ready pizzas for a long time – some are even promoting countertop ovens.

“Evolving preferences are also contributing in the success of fast-food chains,” states the expert.

The rising popularity of low-carb regimens has increased sales at poultry outlets, while affecting sales of high-carbohydrate options, he adds.

As people go out to eat more rarely, they may prefer a more premium experience, and Pizza Hut's classic look with vinyl benches and traditional décor can feel more retro than luxurious.

The “explosion of artisanal pizza places” over the last decade and a half, for example new entrants, has “completely altered the consumer view of what quality pizza is,” explains the food expert.

“A crisp, airy, digestible pizza with a carefully curated additions, not the excessively rich, thick and crowded pizzas of the past. This, in my view, is what's led to Pizza Hut's decline,” she says.

“What person would spend a high price on a modest, low-quality, underwhelming pizza from a chain when you can get a beautiful, masterfully-made traditional pie for less than ten pounds at one of the many authentic Italian pizzerias around the country?

“It's an easy choice.”

A mobile pizza vendor, who runs a small business based in a regional area says: “It's not that lost interest in pizza – they just want improved value.”

He says his flexible operation can offer gourmet pizza at reasonable rates, and that Pizza Hut struggled because it was unable to evolve with evolving tastes.

According to a small pizza brand in Bristol, the proprietor says the industry is broadening but Pizza Hut has not provided anything fresh.

“There are now individual slices, artisanal styles, New Haven-style, sourdough, Neapolitan, deep-dish – it's a heavenly minefield for a pie fan to explore.”

The owner says Pizza Hut “should transform” as the youth don't have any emotional connection or loyalty to the company.

In recent years, Pizza Hut's market has been divided and spread to its more modern, agile alternatives. To sustain its expensive staffing and restaurants, it would have to increase costs – which commentators say is difficult at a time when household budgets are shrinking.

The managing director of Pizza Hut's overseas branches said the acquisition aimed “to ensure our guest experience and save employment where possible”.

The executive stated its first focus was to keep running at the remaining 64 restaurants and off-premise points and to assist staff through the change.

However with large sums going into maintaining its outlets, it likely can't afford to spend heavily in its delivery service because the industry is “complex and using existing external services comes at a cost”, commentators say.

However, it's noted, reducing expenses by withdrawing from crowded locations could be a good way to evolve.