The 24/7 news cycle around the Covid-19 pandemic didn’t deter American consumers from sampling an array of breakfast promotions offered by quick service restaurant (QSR) chains during the week ending March 8. Indeed, QSR “breakfast wars” helped to drive a 4% increase in total US restaurant customer transactions for the week compared to same period year ago, reports the Port Washington, New York-based NPD Group.
This week, however, and until further notice, breakfast, lunch and dinner will not be available in restaurants in much of the United States. Government authorities have begun prohibiting on-site dining in restaurants and bars as drastic measures are employed to enforce social distancing policies designed to slow the spread of the deadly novel coronavirus that has spread around the world since breaking out in China last year. Carryout service and delivery to homes and offices is still allowed.
Fast food chains, which represent the bulk of US restaurant customer transactions, grew transactions by 4% in the normal operating schedule week ending March 8, the highest gain in a four-week period, according to the market research company’s CREST® Performance Alerts, which provides a rapid weekly view of chain-specific transactions and share trends for 73 quick service, fast casual, midscale, and casual dining chains. In contrast, customer transactions at full service restaurants declined in the period. Midscale/family dining chain transactions declined by 3% and at casual dining restaurant chains by 5%.
“In these uncertain times, we are monitoring trends to detect possible disruption in the market, but thus far, the QSR sector has been resilient,” said David Portalatin, NPD’s food industry advisor and author of Eating Patters in America. “In good and bad times, consumers are always looking for convenience and value and they get that at QSR restaurants.”
It should be noted that his comments were made before restaurants and bars were forced to shut down in-house foodservice operations.
