The fast food industry is fading, and that’s probably a pretty good economic indicator. From Tyler Durden at zerohedge.com:
As the market closes at another all time high, the “recovery”, if only on paper, is again bypassing most Americans and it is starting to hit where it hurts the most. According to restaurant tracker NPD Group, traffic at U.S. fast-food restaurant fell 1% in the third quarter, the sector’s first traffic decline in five years. Unfortunately, the reason is not that many Americans have migrated to a higher wealth group and are now eating at more expensive venues, but a more familiar one, namely higher costs of eating out, changing consumer behavior and higher bills for items such as rent and drugs. In other words, America’s “main street” is so squeezed, it can’t even afford to eat out as much as it did just one year ago.
According to Bonnie Riggs of the NPD Group, “the term growing your business in a 1% world has become a popular mantra for the restaurant industry after six consecutive years of annual traffic gains of just 1%,” said NPD analyst Bonnie Riggs. “However, over the past six months, restaurant industry traffic growth has come to a standstill and quick-service restaurants, which have been the traffic growth drivers, are now experiencing a slowdown in visits.”
While inflation in wages is missing for most Americans, expect for those on minimum wages who most likely already work in said fast-food restaurants, inflation in food costs is all too prevalent and eating out has become more expensive, even as the cost of food purchased for home use has fallen 2.4% in the past year, according to the October consumer price index.
To continue reading: Meanwhile On Main Street, Fast-Food Traffic Drops For The First Time In Five Years
