Photo from Unsplash by Toa Heftiba.
Families pull back from foodservice spend as economic pressures bite
Foodservice spending may have increased but only because of high prices.
The family cohort declined 5.9% in spend and traffic amidst economic pressures, a report by Circana revealed.
The drop in traffic was driven by declines across multiple segments, primarily carry-out, dinner, and weekdays.
Overall, foodservice spend grew 2.4% compared to the same period last year, fueled solely by the 2.9% cheque growth, as traffic declined 0.4% in Q2 2024. This was a trend observed in the first quarter of the year.
Interestingly, retail has outperformed QSRs and FSRs, registering a traffic growth of 1.1% in Q2. The growth of retail was fueled by weekends, p.m. snacks, and solo dining.
As consumers continue to look for better value when dining out, deal occasions grew 20.3% in spend and 10.5% in traffic. The largest QSR chain-based outlets drove deal-based traffic growth, highlighting their focus on value.
On-premises, pickup, weekdays, and morning meal fueled deal occasion growth.
