As noted in the publication, the number of so-called unique customers visiting the surveyed fast food outlets was 4.2% higher. than a year earlier. 72.9 percent visits were to “chicken and hamburger places”, and 27.1 percent for a pizzeria. In the entire market, the average number of visits by an average customer in one month was 4.75 and was slightly higher than a year earlier. However, the average duration of visits to this type of premises has not changed – according to the data presented in the report by Proxi.cloud and UCE Research.
Data for one quarter are insufficient for broader forecasts
However, traffic in fast food restaurants increased by 4.7%. y/y. (a single customer may generate more traffic if he visits the premises more than once – PAP). At the same time, places serving sandwiches and chicken dishes recorded an increase of 6.5%. and pizzerias by 3.1%.
In the opinion of Nikodem Sarna from Proxi.cloud, the increases result from greater price stability and improved consumer sentiment, which followed the period of high inflation and, as a result, people reduced their spending on non-basic products and services. “In last year's summer season, the industry experienced a double-digit drop in traffic. It seems that this holiday season will be much better in this respect,” added Sarna.
Mateusz Nowak from Proxi.cloud, the second author of the report, pointed out that another factor influencing the increase in traffic could have been the increase in the minimum wage. However, a significantly higher increase in the number of customers in “chicken burger places” (5.8%) than in pizzerias (2%) may result from changes in customers' culinary preferences.
As analysts emphasized, data for one quarter are insufficient to make broader forecasts. “However, assuming that there will be no disruptions in the labor market and supply chains and that inflation remains low, there is a good chance that the upward trend will be maintained,” Sarna said.
Traffic from monitoring the behavior of nearly 1.4 million consumers was analyzed
The data presented in the report also show that in the first quarter of this year. the share of short visits (over 3 but less than 10 minutes) to restaurants offering sandwiches and chicken dishes was 21.7%, and a year earlier – 21.5%. In the case of pizzerias, it accounted for 36.6 and 36.3 percent, respectively. This means minimal increases on an annual basis.
“These results can be interpreted as a sign of the continuing level of takeaway orders, because they are most likely responsible for short visits to restaurants. This percentage seems high, especially in the case of pizzerias. However, in the era of widespread use of applications allowing for quick and efficient ordering of food to home, it can hardly be considered shocking,” Sarna explained.
The average visit time at the premises did not change year to year, which amounted to 24 minutes and 21 seconds, which, according to Nikodem Sarna, proves that the increase in traffic and the number of customers was not large enough to significantly affect the length of queues and time. waiting for the order.
The analysis was based on traffic observations around almost 1.9 thousand. the largest fast food restaurants offering sandwiches and chicken dishes (McDonald's, KFC, Burger King, Max Burgers and Subway), as well as pizzerias (Pizza Hut, Telepizza, MaxiPizza, Gruby Benek, Domino's Pizza, Dominium, Da Grasso and Biesiadowo) . In total, traffic from monitoring the behavior of nearly 1.4 million consumers was analyzed. The research sample consisted of consumers who agreed to access the location of their device, shared location data and visited the surveyed establishments in both compared periods.
