According to The NPD Group’s Spring 2010 ReCount census, the number of U.S. restaurant units fell by -1%, or by 5,204 units this year compared to spring 2009. Independent restaurant closings contributed the most to this number, while chain restaurants remained fairly stable. Greg Starzynski, director of product development-foodservice at NPD, attributes the decline to the loss of consumer traffic over the last year. Here are further statistics revealed by NPD’s Spring 2010 ReCount:
- The number of quickservice restaurants fell by -1 percent or 2,521 units
- Full service restaurant units also declined by -1 or 2,683 units
- The NPD Group’s CREST reports that visits to U.S. restaurants fell by -3 percent this year compared to the year before
- CREST revealed that consumer spending at restaurants also fell by -1 percent, which is the first decline of consumer spending reported by NPD since the beginning of its foodservice industry research in 1976
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