NPD: Canadians more likely to visit restaurant for breakfast than for supper

The Canadian restaurant industry is slowly improving to pre-recession levels but long-term growth will depend on more product innovation, quality, customer service, and convenience, according to Robert Carter, executive director of Canada foodservice at The NPD Group, a leading market research firm, who presented a keynote address at the 2nd annual Canadian Restaurant Investment Summit on April 14 in Toronto.

According to The NPD Group's CREST® service, which continually tracks how Canadians use restaurants and other foodservice outlets, 46 percent of the Canadian population use restaurants on an average day, more than in the past. Notably, usage is higher than in the U.S. (44 percent) and only Italy is higher.

"Restaurant use by Canadians is growing strongly at breakfast, in response to innovation on morning menus,"says Carter. "For the first time, Canadians are using restaurants more often for breakfast than for supper."

He told the audience that the slowness at supper is particularly hurting the full service restaurant segment. Full service restaurant traffic has been declining for the last two years, and increasing visits in this segment will continue to be a challenge for the industry.

"It's clear from our research that full service dining customers are seeking greater menu variety,"says Carter. "They are also motivated to visit full service operators who promote higher quality food items."

While full service restaurants, which make up 25% of all restaurant visits in Canada, continue to struggle, visits to quick service restaurants increased by 2 percent in 2010, according to NPD's foodservice market research. He said that the fast casual quick service category is a key opportunity in Canada because it offers the convenience of quick service restaurants, but with higher quality food and ambiance.

"As long as Canadians remain cautious about visiting restaurants more often, it's all a share game,"says Carter. "But people always want new, and they're always willing to try new. Restaurants should focus on developing new menu items and updating their locations, so that customers have new reasons to visit."