The Foodservice Landscape in the U.S.: Restaurant Industry and Consumer Trends, Momentum and MigrationPackaged FactsMay 1, 2010 209 Pages - SKU: LA2624812 |
Additional Information
Market Insights: A Selection From The Report
Fast food remains traffic king: 4 in 10 restaurant visits in past month were to fast food/QSR
As part of our proprietary February 2010 consumer survey, Packaged Facts measured restaurant usage and mean usage frequency by restaurant type.
As expected, mean use of “fast food/quick service restaurants” was substantially higher than any other restaurant type—about three times higher than for runner-up causal restaurants—a testament fast food’s strong value, low-cost, and convenience propositions.
With an aggregate mean use of all restaurant types of 10.8 in the past month, fast food/quick-service visits represent almost half (49%) of all visits, followed by casual restaurants (17%), family restaurants (15%) and coffeehouses (15%).
The Restaurant Generation: 18-34 year-olds still moving through restaurant doors
The relevance of youth to the restaurant industry is demonstrated by higher average mean usage among 18-34s for every restaurant type shown.
This demographic group grew into adulthood at a time when dining out became commonplace. Having gone through their first recession (leaving aside the mini-recession that took place in 2001), these consumers’ lifestyles nevertheless remain strongly attached to the emotional and practical benefits that restaurants provide them, and they are at an age when socializing among friends and dating is paramount.
We believe that continuing to engage this group, more than any other age group, will be the key to strengthening restaurant sales in the long run, as the macroeconomic trends shaping the world today will shape the spending behavior of this group tomorrow.
In the NewsMillennials Bright Spot for Future of Recession-Affected U.S. Foodservice Industry
New York, May 3, 2010 — As a market already marred by recession-related discretionary spending cutbacks, the U.S. foodservice industry should look to the “millennials” (also known as Gen Y) as a bright spot to lead restaurants out of the economic doldrums, according to The U.S. Foodservice Landscape 2010: Restaurant Industry and Consumer Trends, Momentum and Migration, a first-of-its-kind examination of recent and future consumer habits and attitudes surrounding dining out, by market research publisher Packaged Facts.
Restaurant users aged 18-34 are an industry sweet spot, with strong usage and usage frequency patterns across restaurant segments, according to Packaged Facts’ proprietary Consumer Restaurant Tracker. Within the cohort, restaurant users aged 25-34 spend the most money at restaurants on a per meal basis, and also have the largest party sizes resulting in a total spend per visit that is 25% above the average. Likewise, healthy eaters and technology-savvy diners who utilize ordering technology spend more than average per visit and have higher party sizes.
Consumers have become significantly more value-conscious, the report found. About 50% of respondent adult (18+) restaurant goers say they are more likely to eat dinner at home—and almost one-third doing so “a lot more”—compared to three months ago. Besides eating more at home, the proprietary data reveals that an increasing number of consumers are inclined to spend more money on groceries or to “pack a lunch, breakfast or snack” in the next three months rather than splurge on takeout or delivery.
“Our data indicates that grocery store sales rose 4% between February 2009 and February 2010, underscoring the trend toward food at home, which continues to exhibit momentum,” says Don Montuori, publisher of Packaged Facts. “This shift toward food at home at the expense of food away has produced a triple threat to the restaurant industry: declining guest traffic, declining average check, and declining sales.”
Packaged Facts estimates that sales at eating and drinking establishments will fall 2% in 2010, then increase by 2% in 2011. Full-service restaurants, segment sales of which are forecast to fall 4% in 2010, will lead the drop before increasing 1% in 2011. Meanwhile, limited-service restaurant sales are forecast to drop 1% in 2010 and then rise by 2% in 2011.
Restaurant usage and usage frequency also strongly correlate to household income, with the exception of the fast food/QSR (quick service restaurant) segment, which enjoys universal usage across income groups. In the past three months, consumers with household incomes of at least $100K were more likely to use restaurant delivery/takeout/pickup, but only slightly more likely to spend money on meals at restaurants. Meanwhile, their counterparts from less affluent households were more likely to spend money on food for home.
As part of Packaged Facts’ Foodservice Market Insights series, The U.S. Foodservice Landscape 2010: Restaurant Industry and Consumer Trends, Momentum and Migration draws from proprietary consumer surveys and analysis, providing uniquely consultative insight on consumers’ evolving relationships with the foodservice industry. As part of this analysis, the report presents three key features: Packaged Facts’ quarterly Consumer Restaurant Tracker, offering directional analysis on consumer usage and usage frequency of restaurants by segment; its quarterly Consumer Spend Tracker, providing directional analysis on consumer spending behaviors and attitudes related to restaurant use; and Demographic Drill-Downs, which utilizes a consultative approach to consumer survey analysis to present highly customized consumer insight via custom consumer lifestyle and attitude groupings, psychographic groups, and other narrowly tailored “cross-tabbed” analysis—leveraging maximum insight.
About Packaged Facts - Packaged Facts, a division of MarketResearch.com, publishes market intelligence on a wide range of consumer market topics, including consumer goods and retailing, foods and beverages, demographics, pet products and services, and financial products. Packaged Facts also offers a full range of custom research services.
