Global Restaurant Traffic Shows Mixed Results In Second Quarter, NPD Reports

In the second quarter of 2016, restaurant traffic counts were strongest in the United Kingdom, even as it was voting to leave the European Union, and weakest in Brazil, despite the impending Summer Olympics, according to the latest CREST data from The NPD Group. Traffic in the other 10 major foodservice markets tracked by the Rosemont, Ill.-based research practice was a mixed bag.

Visits during the second quarter also rose in Australia, France, Japan and Spain, and were stable in Germany. Comparisons are against the same quarter in the prior year. Traffic fell surprisingly in China and was also down in the U.S., Canada, Italy and Russia. Even with the traffic declines, total foodservice spending rose in all markets except Russia and Japan.

Morning-meal visits continue to grow in nearly all markets, but given it is a relatively small daypart, it doesn’t drive overall growth. The strongest markets in Europe and Australia saw growth across all three main dayparts. Spain saw traffic growth at both morning meal and PM snack, its two largest meal periods. Japan, China and the U.S. saw visits rise at both breakfast and PM snack.

“Last quarter’s exciting, broad growth around the world proved to be ephemeral,” said Bob O’Brien, senior v.p. of global foodservice at NPD. “Things are still growing in most of Europe, but our global analysts are wary of their near-term prospects. Chains are not as broadly strong and main dayparts are weak outside of the strongest markets. And in the U.S., Europe, Russia and Canada, there is great uncertainty about the direction of the overall environment.”