Consumers are returning to the hard-hit fast casual restaurant segment, with online and physical visits to such restaurants up 8% year-over-year in August.
According to a new report from The NPD Group, that uptick keeps traffic on par or flat to pre-pandemic visits in August 2019. By contrast, visits to fast casual restaurants were down 23% in June 2020 at the height of the pandemic.
Fast casual restaurants suffered from a lack of drive-thru capabilities and off-premises operational efficiencies of traditional quick-service brands, NPD analysts say. Drive-thrus in particular helped many restaurant chains survive during the pandemic, as they eased the burden on satisfying carryout orders and customers were well-accustomed to ordering food at those chains in that way. Drive-thru trips accounted for 42% of all restaurant visits in the second quarter of 2020, when pandemic lockdowns were at their apex.
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