Restaurants are Starving for Business

Foodservice franchises hoping for some relief from the poor economy didn’t get it in The NPD Group’s latest report on consumer foodservice usage around the globe.

The gloomy global economy has affected consumers worldwide, according to the market research company’s CREST report, which monitors consumer foodservice usage in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States. In the first quarter of this year, CREST reports that foodservice traffic declined in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States.

In the U.S., traffic at foodservice establishments was down 1.5 percent, although, on the positive side, spending was up 2 percent. Canada’s average spend grew by 2 percent as well, but traffic was essentially flat. Total spending at foodservice outlets fell in all the rest of the reported countries.

Breaking foodservice down further into categories, NPD reports that except for Japan, traffic at quick service (fast food) restaurants dropped in all the monitored countries. Full-service restaurants showed virtually no growth around the world. And most foodservice daypart segments (i.e. breakfast, lunch, supper, and evening snack) declined in nearly every country. 

“It appears this economic downturn has affected consumers similarly, regardless of the country in which they live,” says Bob O’Brien, senior vice president of global foodservice at NPD. “They are controlling their expenses by eating out less frequently, snacking less, cutting back on family visits, and when they do dine out, they are trading down to less expensive channels, and carefully managing their check size.” 

The news wasn’t completely negative though — more Americans are going out for breakfast. Perhaps this is a result of consumers trading down to less expensive options when eating out (breakfast is generally the cheapest meal).