When Starbucks is the most hated restaurant in America
The American restaurant industry is not the only one struggling to keep pace with the rapidly expanding number of chains.
For the first time in more than a decade, the American restaurant market lost about 8% of its customers in 2017, according to research firm NPD Group.
It was the most significant decline since the start of the recession in 2009, and it was not as steep as some expected.
The decline was the result of fewer people choosing to patronize restaurants in the first place, according the firm.
NPD Group’s Mark Johnson said that the number of diners who opted to go out for a meal has remained flat for the past three years.
“It’s a pretty significant decline,” Johnson said.
According to Johnson, the decline comes amid an explosion of restaurants, which have been growing rapidly for decades.
The trend toward restaurant chains and casual dining has made the traditional dining experience less appealing to younger generations.
Many young people have begun to look to other forms of entertainment, and a more casual dining experience means a shift away from a dining room environment.
For the first two months of 2018, the number that came to NPD’s survey for dining was down 6% from the same time last year.
It was the lowest increase in nearly a decade.
Some of that is due to the rise of the American Express card, which is more widely available than ever before.
Johnson said the number also fell because of the decline in the number who stayed for dinner.
“The dining experience has been very popular in the past, and that was not what people wanted to spend money on,” Johnson explained.
“The card is kind of the new standard for dining, and people are going to do what they want to spend.”
The company also noted that there was a decline in overall spending on dining, with overall spending up 7% from 2017.
In addition to the decline, many consumers are opting for other dining options.
The number of Americans who have stopped paying their credit card bills was up 15% last year, from 1.9 million to 2.6 million.
But Johnson said the biggest reason for the decline is because of a growing number of businesses that are closing.
These businesses, Johnson said, have been closing for a variety of reasons, including a decline of business in the housing market, rising gas prices, the economic downturn and the closure of businesses.
While the number one reason for closing a restaurant is the decline of customers, there are also a number of other factors that could be contributing to the trend, Johnson added.
“There are a number, but they’re pretty broad in nature,” he said.
“You could say that they are mostly in the restaurant industry.”
