Franchise News
Fast Casual: Restaurant Business Hits Standstill in First Half of 2016
The fast casual sector is experiencing the most significant slowdown when it comes to growth.
Recent data from the NPD group reveals that growth for the restaurant industry for the first half of this year has remained flat.
“Contributing to the stalled visit growth are consumers’ uncertainties about current and future economic conditions,” said Bonnie Riggs, NPD Group’s restaurant industry analyst. “"These uncertainties have put a damper on overall consumer spending. Compounding the situation for the restaurant industry is the decline in food at home inflation while at the same time restaurant operators have been increasing menu prices."
According to Fast Casual, the most concerning aspect of the standstill is that the breakneck speed of growth in the fast casual sector for the last few years is also slowing this year. Growth was flat this quarter in that sector, whereas this time last year overall fast casual traffic was up two percent.
But Riggs believes that not all hope is lost.
"The good news in all of this is that consumers made 61.3 billion restaurant visits this past year," said Riggs. "They are not giving up dining out at restaurants and other food service outlets. It’s true that in this flat market it’s a battle for visit share but there are restaurants that are winning. The winning operators focus on their customers’ needs and deliver on them."
Don’t Miss the Next Big Franchise Story
Sign up for the 1851 Franchise newsletter to get our biggest stories before everyone else
By signing up, you agree to our user agreement (including class action waiver and arbitration provisions), and acknowledge our privacy policy.
About the Author
Nick Powills
FollowNick Powills, CFE, founded No Limit Agency in 2008 and serves as Chief Brand Strategist for the Chicago-based firm. No Limit is a full-service communications agency that establishes and elevates brands by bridging Public Relations, Social Media, Marketing, Advertising, Digital, and a lot of creativity, to best strategize well-rounded and successful campaigns for 50+ global franchise brands. By presenting visionary ideas and building real relationships, No Limit is able to create effective media branding strategies to help companies grow. Nick currently leads a staff of writers, media strategists, designers, social media experts and digital producers in an office think-tank where brands are humanized for strong, compelling media stories. Prior to starting No Limit at the age of 27, Nick spent four years working at a franchise PR agency where he mastered the art of building rapport with media outlets and creating newsworthy pitches for earned media placements. He holds a Bachelor of Journalism from Drake University in Iowa.
