Foodservice industry traffic is at its highest level in six years, though overall industry traffic growth is limited by declining visits to quick service hamburger chains, midscale dining, and independent restaurants.
According to a report by the NPD Group, restaurant and foodservice outlet visits hit the 61.1 billion mark in the year ending May 2015 up from the 60.6 billion visits in year ending May 2010. Higher average eater checks were the primary driver of a 3 percent increase in overall consumer spending during the year ending May 2015 period over a year ago.
Morning meal/breakfast continued to grow at the fastest pace among all meals with a 4 percent jump in visits. Quick service restaurants were responsible for most of the visit gains at breakfast, and although overall visits declined at midscale/family dining restaurants, breakfast traffic for this segment held steady. Lunch and dinner visits were flat for the total industry, and traffic for PM snacks declined by 2 percent.
