Quick-service restaurant visits fall as gas prices rise

Coinciding with the rise in gas prices has been a slowdown in per capita visits to restaurants, according to researcher the NPD Group. Consumers report going out to eat less, especially at casual dining and family-style restaurants. Instead, they say they are opting to eat at home more, citing “cheaper prices” as the primary factor.

NPD’s data shows that one-quarter of consumers say they are visiting quick-service restaurants less frequently and one-third of consumers say they are visiting casual dining and family-style restaurants less frequently. Instead, these consumers say they are choosing to eat at home more often. In fact, 42 percent of people who are visiting quick-service restaurants less say they now eat at home more, while half of consumers who went to casual dining and family-style restaurants less say they now eat at home more.
Motivations for visiting restaurants less frequently differ by restaurant type. NPD asked its panelists why some consumers may visit quick-service and casual dining restaurants less often now than previously. While the high price of gasoline was a popular response, the top reason for eating at home more was consumers’ belief that it is cheaper. Also, by eating at home, quick-service consumers believe they are getting “more healthy options” and “better quality food.”

You like research, you really like research!

As reported by Research magazine’s Robert Bain, Oscar-winning director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck explained his love for marketing research at the ESOMAR congress in Berlin in September.

Without market research, said Donnersmarck, his phenomenally successful film The Lives of Others (which nabbed the award for 2006’s Best Foreign Language Film) would never have seen the light of day. After being rebuffed by every distributor he approached, Donnersmarck said it was only when Buena Vista Germany got a research team to identify his target audience and run screenings with carefully selected groups that he got the backing he needed.

The director’s speech, Bain wrote, was more like a nice chat over a beer than a conference presentation, and Donnersmarck’s rousing cry of “Thank God for market research!” left the audience feeling all warm and fuzzy.

“Esomar Congress: ‘Thank God for MR’ ” Research, September 17, 2007 

No crest for the anti-bacterial wave

Heightened levels of “germaphobia” have given rise to a huge influx of new products developed to sanitize home, work, public places and even food, says Chicago research firm Mintel. According to the firm’s Global New Products Database (GNPD), introductions of anti-bacterial non-food products increased from fewer than 200 worldwide in 2003 to some 1,610 in 2006 - an impressive 713 percent growth.

(Mintel’s non-food products category includes soap and bath products, skin care, household products, oral hygiene, health care products, diapers and feminine hygiene, deodorants, hair care, cosmetics and pet products.)2007 has seen over 1,700 anti-bacterial products launch globally, as manufacturers continue to play on consumer fears about germs. “Interest in anti-bacterial products first came to light in the early 1990s. But more recently the market has picked up again on the back of the SARS epidemic of 2002-2003, outbreaks of avian flu and other high-profile stories such as superbugs in hospitals across Europe and the U.K. in particular,” said Lynn Dornblaser, director of Mintel GNPD Custom Solutions.

Last year, the U.S. saw the greatest number of new anti-bacterial products of any country worldwide. Mintel GNPD recorded around 170 anti-bacterial product launches in 2006, but so far this year there have already been over 200 new anti-bacterial introductions.

This rapid growth in anti-bacterial new product development seems well-placed, if consumer sentiment is anything to go by. According to Mintel Reports, some 71 percent of American adults who do some or all of the household cleaning “prefer anti-bacterial and germ-killing cleaning products.”

It is the youngest adults, aged 18-24, who are the most likely to agree with this statement (80 percent), which bodes well for the future of these products as these young adults are likely to take their cleaning preferences with them as they age.

Globally, travel-sized wipes are now available for those looking to kill germs on phones, doorknobs, television remotes and toilet seats in hotels.

In the U.S., concerns with food contamination such as the spinach E. Coli outbreak have fueled continued interest in anti-bacterial products. In fact, manufacturers have developed anti-bacterial lines for washing fruits and vegetables.

Looking ahead, Mintel expects to see new anti-bacterial products that capitalize on the trend toward environmentally-responsible purchases. “In the future, anti-bacterial products with natural ingredients are expected to sell well against a backdrop of growing demand for all-natural lines in general. For example, we can expect to see more new products that focus on the natural anti-bacterial power of plant extracts,” Dornblaser said.

Some herbal/botanical ingredients that we can expect to see appearing in anti-bacterial products include green tea, lavender and aloe vera while more unusual offerings utilize silver. Anti-bacterial will remain top-of-mind for the immediate future but expect significant expansion for the natural platform.