Can Casual Dining Recover?

Americans love to eat.  Food is as big a part of the American day as any other aspect for most people.  In fact, nearly one third of all Americans have been diagnosed as clinically obese.  While Americans themselves may not be on a diet, their wallets are.  Restaurant sales at casual establishments fell by 5.4% in February following a trend of declining sales that started back in December.  Many believe that the economy is the primary factor in this drop in casual restaurant sales.  The rise in the cost of living, combined with rising gas prices and increasing payroll taxes has helped to spiral the industry on its first three month losing streak since 2010.

Some of these trends may not be entirely attributable to the economy, however.  2012 featured unseasonably favorable weather throughout the winter months.  2013 has not been so kind.  While the changing seasons cannot take all of the blame for the decline of restaurant sales, it can serve to ease some of the pain of the situation.  If restaurants want to pull themselves out of the cycle of declining sales, they need to do something.  We've talked about some of those issues in previous posts.  We recommend that you take a look back at those posts for in depth information, but the highlights include:

• Promotional offers
• Social Media Campaigns
• Guerrilla Marketing
• Customer loyalty programs