CHICAGO—The NPD Group reported the economy is taking its toll on the restaurant industry as traffic declined -2.6 percent for spring quarter ending May 2009 versus the same quarter last year. This is the sharpest decline in industry traffic since 1981.
According to NPD’s Consumer Reports on Eating Share Trends (CREST®) report, traffic was down -2 percent at quick service restaurants (QSR)/fast food, marking seven of the last nine months with declining customer counts. Casual dining declined -4 percent; midscale was down -6 percent. While checks rose +2 percent in the quarter, the rate of increase failed to offset the decline in traffic; yielding a 1-percent decline in consumer spending at commercial foodservice this quarter.
“The commercial foodservice industry has been struggling since last fall, and it appears that as unemployment increases the struggle is increasing,” said Arnie Schwartz, president of U.S. foodservice at NPD. “Dealing, value menus and attractive price-points seem to be supporting some operators who are holding on. Menu innovations in the fast casual and QSR segments also have helped to capture occasions.”