Feeling the sting of a bleak global economy, consumers around the world cut back on visiting foodservice outlets in the first quarter of the year, according to market research company The NPD Group. NPD's CREST, which tracks consumer usage of foodservice in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, United Kingdom and United States, reports foodservice traffic declines in the United States as well as Japan and European countries France, Germany, Italy Spain and the United Kingdom.
Traffic was essentially flat in and Canada.
Total spending at foodservice outlets fell in all of the reported countries with the exception of Canada and the United States.
NPD found that consumer foodservice spending changes vs. a year ago include:
- U.S. — spending up 0.5 percent, check average up 2 percent, traffic down 1.5 percent, average check $6.51
- Canada — spending up 1.7 percent, check average up 2 percent, traffic up 0.1 percent, average check $6.05 (U.S. dollars)
- Japan — spending down 5.4 percent, check average down 3.6 percent, traffic down 1.9 percent, average check $7.87 (U.S. dollars)
- U.K. — spending down 5.9 percent, traffic down 5.5 percent, check average down 0.3 percent, average check $5.81 (U.S. dollars)
- France — spending down 0.5 percent, check average up 1 percent, traffic down 1.5 percent, average check $8.11 (U.S. dollars)
- Germany — spending down 2.7 percent, check average up 1.2 percent, traffic down 3.9 percent, average check $7.55 (U.S. dollars)
- Italy — spending down 2.7 percent, check average 1.1 percent, traffic down 1.7 percent, average check $5.56 (U.S. dollars)
- Spain — spending down 5.7 percent, check average down 1.9 percent, traffic down 4 percent, average check $6.82 (U.S. dollars)
With the exception of Japan, traffic counts declined at quick-service restaurants in the monitored countries. Traffic at burger QSRs offset declines. Full service foodservice concepts posted virtually no growth around the world. Most foodservice daypart segments (i.e. morning meal, lunch, supper, and evening snack) declined in nearly every country. Supper was weak everywhere but France. Germany and the United States experienced some growth in the morning meal daypart. The evening snack daypart showed the most encouraging trend, with increases or flat results in three countries.
"It appears this economic downturn has affected consumers similarly, regardless of the country in which they live," said 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."
NPD released its first CREST report on the Chinese commercial foodservice market in May 2009. In general, NPD reports that Chinese consumers rely on commercial foodservice for their meals/snacks consumption at least once every other day, and are more likely to patronize full service concepts in the China's metro cities and quick service/vendor concepts in Beijing, Nanjing, Hangzhou and the country's other capital cities.
More information about foodservice across the globe is available at NPD's Web site.
