While restaurant traffic has slumped throughout the pandemic, certain time slots and types of orders are showing strength from an unexpected source.
Late afternoon and after dinner snack visits—what the restaurant industry calls the p.m. snack daypart—has increased through February 2021, reports The NPD Group. Overall, restaurant traffic has been down across dayparts for most of last year. One possible reason for the increase is the large number of people working from home during the pandemic and able to run out for a quick bite to eat.
During the p.m. snack period, which ranges from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., visits increased by 5% in January and 3% in February compared to the same months a year ago. That trend was especially notable since the continuing pandemic and bad weather throughout the US made February a rough month for the industry.
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NPD says the snack daypart also gained a 3% increase in the share of occasions in the last calendar quarter of 2020. Every other day part declined, according to NPD's daily tracking of how consumers use restaurants.
Consumers said their top reasons for visiting during the p.m. snack period were food quality and desire for a treat. NPD says, "The kids like it there," "regularly go there" and "had a special taste or craving" were all on par as reasons for a p.m. snack visit. These people were choosing quick-service restaurant chains. Pizza and burgers, more substantial eating options, have been performing best.
"Because of the pandemic and the disruption of our normal commuting patterns and daily routines, we have more flexibility in deciding when and what to eat, and p.m. snack is the beneficiary of this fluidity," says David Portalatin, NPD food industry advisor and author of Eating Patterns in America said in a prepared statement. "This growing daypart is a clear opportunity for restaurant operators."
As more people were coming in for their p.m. snack, restaurant employment has also been improving. Last week the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that eating and drinking places added 175,800 jobs in March on a seasonally adjusted basis.
March also marked the third straight month of growth for eating and drinking places as employment levels hit their highest number since the pandemic began. Still, eating and drinking place employment remains 15% (1.8 million jobs) below pre-pandemic levels, the National Restaurant Association notes.
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Leslie Shaver
Les Shaver has been covering commercial and residential real estate for almost 20 years. His work has appeared in Multifamily Executive, Builder, units, Arlington Magazine in addition to GlobeSt.com and Real Estate Forum.
