Restaurant Trends February 2021
Food Away From Home & Food At Home
We are tracking closely these two Consumer Price indexes. In the US, at the beginning of the pandemic Food At Home (FAH) increased significantly more than Food Away From Home (FAFH); predominantly as a result of supply chain challenges at the time. Currently both indexes are increasing at similar levels and FAFH is forecasted to outpace FAH in 2021.
Why are we watching both Indexes? Why does this matter?
Over the years, we established that for some QSR and Casual Dining brands, when grocery prices increase more than restaurant prices, this correlates positively with an increase in traffic trends. This effect was not found in 2020 as most of the demand shifts between grocery and restaurant were caused by other factors such as availability.
For 2021, as the volatile supply chains driving FAH price changes settle down, we will probably see a return to higher price changes from restaurants, which could pose additional headwinds for some QSR and Casual Dining brands on their path of recovery in the months ahead. Additionally, new habits formed over the past year have had time to cement themselves. How many of these new habits will stay? Restaurants are going to find themselves trying to manage significant demand uncertainty.
Consultant’s Corner
5 key takeaways that will take your drive-thru and loyalty program to the next level
What happens after a bad drive-thru experience? How can loyalty programs improve the customer experience – and the check? And how can data become a restaurant’s potent recovery agent? All this and more in our latest blog post.
How did a different holiday season impact restaurant sales and traffic?
The holiday season in 2020 was a different one with many celebrating at home. While restaurant traffic and sales were up for certain segments during Thanksgiving, did it prove to be the same during the last month of the year? Take a look at how the industry performed based on our latest insights featured in Fast Casual Magazine.
