Stores, grocers eat restaurants’ lunch

Sandra Pedicini
October 7, 2013
Orlando Sentinel

A little more bad news for restaurants: Visits to grocery and convenience stores for prepared lunches spiked 29 percent since 2008, while visits to restaurants for the noontime meal have declined 1 percent, according to a new NPD Group report.

Stores have a variety of healthy options and light meal offerings at good prices, and they’re also convenient, NPD said in its report. Meanwhile, high unemployment and shaky consumer confidence are among the reasons that lunch visits to restaurants have declined.

Americans in general are eating more at home, NPD said. Purchases of prepared foods are expected to grow 10 percent in the next decade, while restaurant traffic will only rise by 4 percent.

Supermarkets are adding to their prepared-foods offerings, with some newer ones devoting huge sections of their stores to dishes requiring little or no preparation.

“It’s fact that retail prepared foods are taking visits away from restaurants and restaurant visits are not expected to grow much over the next decade, but there is also significant opportunity for foodservice operators to meet consumers’ needs for prepared foods,” NPD restaurant industry analyst Bonnie Riggs said in a statement.