Monday, December 03, 2012

Older eaters are eating more and more often


The Wall Street Journal recently had a fascinating story about what is happening with the age of eaters in US restaurants.

I think the graphic is self-explanatory.

Older customers are going out to eat with almost the same frequency as younger ones, and their share of total restaurant visits is increasing, according to a new study by market-research firm NPD Group Inc. Per-capita restaurant visits among those 48 and up now average 210 a year, versus 211 for 18- to 47-year-olds. That's a big change from 2008, when older consumers ate out an average 207 times, compared with 240 for 18- to 47-year-olds.

The reason: Boomers, as a group, have more discretionary income, partly because they are delaying retirement, while younger people have been harder hit by the nation's stubborn unemployment problem.

It is as simple as that.

Now the question is this - does the hospitality industry understand what is happening and is it doing anything to capitalise on the trend. I doubt it.

Sorry I cannot provide a link but the WSJ is behind a paywall. Dick Stroud

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