Canadian Restaurants Enjoyed A Robust Return of Customers in the First Quarter

Full service restaurants benefitted from the pent-up demand to dine out

The Canadian foodservice industry continued to show promising recovery in the first quarter of 2022 compared to last year’s same quarter, reports The NPD Group. Physical and online visits to restaurants and commercial foodservice outlets increased by 18% in the first quarter compared to the same quarter last year, when traffic declined by 9% due to indoor dining restrictions. Consumer spending in the quarter grew by 27% compared to a year ago when spending declined by...

Dine-In Traffic Remains A Headwind for U.S. Restaurant Industry Recovery

The U.S. restaurant industry continues to recover from last year’s steep declines, although not yet back to pre-pandemic levels. Total restaurant online and physical visits were up 5% in the year ending September compared to the same period last year, and down 6% from September 2019. While restaurant visits continue to improve overall, dine-in or on-premises traffic continues to struggle compared to pre-pandemic levels, reports The NPD Group.

Dine-in visits to restaurants were down 48% in the 12 months ending September 2021 compared to...

Canada’s Foodservice Industry Recovery Overall Is Steady in August, But Has Some Declines

Canada’s commercial foodservice industry remained on a stable course to recovery in August, reports The NPD Group. In August, online and physical visits to restaurants and other foodservice outlets increased by +16% compared to August 2020 and were down -4% compared to the pre-pandemic level in August 2019. Consumer spending increased by +23% in August compared to the same month year ago and is up +1% from August 2019.

While total foodservice traffic and consumer spending continued to improve in August, the...

U.S. Restaurant Industry Continues Gradual Recovery in August While Dine-in Visits Remain Low

Despite bad weather and the delta variant spread, consumer online and physical restaurant visits in August continued to recover from last year’s steep declines, reports The NPD Group. U.S. restaurant traffic increased by +5% over the -10% decline in August 2020 and declined by -5% compared to the pre-pandemic level in August 2019. Larger average check sizes drove a +13% increase in dollars compared to a year ago and a +3% gain in dollars over the same month two years ago, according...

OpenTable And CLEAR Partner to Help Restaurants Streamline Proof Of Vaccination Across The US 

As the Delta variant spreads and more cities require proof of vaccination for indoor dining, OpenTable, the world's leading provider of online restaurant reservations and part of Booking Holdings Inc., and CLEAR, the secure identity company, are partnering to offer diners a simple way to show proof of vaccination at a restaurant through CLEAR's digital vaccine card.

"Our partnership with CLEAR furthers our commitment to help both restaurants and diners navigate dining out in the next chapter of the pandemic," said Debby Soo, CEO...

Canada’s Foodservice Industry Shows Promising Recovery in the Second Quarter Compared to Last Year

Through lockdowns, COVID-19 restrictions, and eventual reopening, Canadians released their pent-up demand and ordered from or visited restaurants and other foodservice outlets in the April-May-June quarter reports The NPD Group. Consumer spending at restaurants and other foodservice outlets increased by +43% in the second quarter of the year compared to the same quarter last year when spending declined by -41% from the year before. Visits, dining in and off-premises orders, improved by +31% compared to the second quarter year ago when traffic declined by -36%, according to NPD’s continual tracking of the foodservice industry.

Each area of the commercial foodservice market is recovering at a different pace. Quick service restaurants (QSR), many of which had well-developed off-premises services like carry-out and...

The U.S. Restaurant Industry Recovery Through Second Quarter has Been Slow and Steady

The second quarter of this year reflects a period during which state and local governments lifted pandemic restrictions, restaurants reopened, people got vaccinated, and consumers used restaurants more than they did throughout the pandemic, reports The NPD Group. Consumer spending at restaurants was up +32% in the April-May-June 2021 quarter compared to the same quarter last year, and for a pre-pandemic view, flat compared to the same quarter in 2019. Restaurant visits, dining in or off-premises, increased by +22% in the quarter compared to the same quarter last year and were down -7% compared to the second quarter of 2019, according to NPD’s daily tracking of the U.S. foodservice industry.

Quick service restaurants (QSRs), representing 81% of restaurant visits in the U.S., realized a gain of +15% in visits in the second quarter compared to a year ago and a -5% decline compared to the second quarter of 2019. Throughout the pandemic, QSR restaurants, particularly...