U.S. restaurant traffic increased by +1 percent in the second calendar quarter of 2013 compared to same quarter last year while consumer spending, driven primarily by average check growth, increased by +3 percent over last year, according to The NPD Group, a leading global information company. NPD’s foodservice market research finds that despite growth in the April, May, June quarter, foodservice traffic is at the 2009 level of 15.7 billion for the quarter.
Visits to quick service restaurants (QSR), which represent 78 percent of industry traffic, were up by +1 percent, according to NPD’s CREST, which every day tracks how U.S. consumers use restaurants. Casual dining traffic, after several consecutive quarters of declines, held steady in the quarter. Midscale/family dining restaurant traffic continued its history of traffic declines with a -2 percent decrease compared to same quarter last year. Fine dining/upscale hotel restaurants, which represent only 1 percent of total industry traffic, increased visits by +6 percent. Traffic to fast casual restaurants, which fall under the quick service segment, increased by +8 percent in the second quarter.
Posted by Lauren Harrity 9/20/13
