NPD: Fine dining segment traffic growth outpacing other segments
SEAFOOD.COM NEWS April 9, 2014 -
Annual traffic growth at fine-dining restaurants has outperformed other industry segments for the past three years due to several crucial adjustments made during the last recession, according to The NPD Group.
The market research firm’s CREST service found that visits to fine-dining restaurants rose 5 percent in the year ended December 2013, compared with flat traffic in quick service and declines of 2 percent and 3 percent, respectively, in the casual-dining and midscale segments.
“Fine-dining restaurant operators are listening and responding to marketplace needs,” Riggs said. “There was a time when many of these restaurants were in such high demand that they decided who could visit and what they would pay. The recession hit, and there was more supply than demand. Fine-dining operators responded by making the changes necessary to appeal to their customer base, and their customers have responded.”
The NPD Group included the caveat that fine-dining traffic makes up only 1 percent of overall restaurant industry visits, spending at fine-dining restaurants accounts for 14 percent of annual restaurant industry sales, The NPD Group found.
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