Q2 Global Foodservice Consumer Spending Gets Boost from Higher Eater Checks While Overall Visits Reflect Each Country’s Mood

Higher eater checks at foodservice outlets around the globe in the second calendar quarter of 2014 helped to increase overall consumer spending in every country except Spain and Italy, reports The NPD Group, a leading global information company. Foodservice traffic results for the quarter were mixed and reflected each country’s economy, consumer confidence level, or other industry issues, like food safety, which proved a visit deterrent for restaurant chains in China and Germany.

Australia and Great Britain were the only two established foodservice markets to post traffic count increases in the second quarter, according to NPD’s CREST® foodservice market research, which continually tracks consumer use of foodservice outlets in Australia, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, and the United States. The fledgling foodservice markets of China and Russia also posted traffic gains. Spain, after years of pulling down overall traffic performance in the European market, did not have the steepest traffic declines in the quarter, but Italy did with a 2 percent loss in visits.

“After the successful first quarter of the year, the German foodservice industry realized a one percent traffic decline in the second quarter,” said Jochen Pinsker, senior vice president, NPD Foodservice-Europe. “The traffic decline was influenced by the World Cup, which led to an overall decline in visits in the classic foodservice areas. In addition, there was a hygiene crisis for one of the major quick service chains, which affected other quick service chains. The bright spot in the quarter was the two percent increase in consumer spending.”

The importance of quick service restaurants to the global foodservice marketplace was evident in the second quarter of the year. According to NPD, the four countries with growing traffic counts all posted visit increases from the quick service restaurant segment. Quick service traffic was down in the countries that experienced visit declines in the quarter.

“Globally, without better performance from quick service restaurants and more demand from consumers at lunch, the industry will continue to eddy about, growing here and declining there, with no clear direction,” says Bob O’Brien, global senior vice president-NPD Foodservice.

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