Big Spenders & Pricing Games Mask Low Income Traffic Decline At Restaurants

How ticket inflation masks structural transaction declines across casual dining and fast-food bellwethers

Menu Inflation Masks Softening Guest Counts

Consumer dining spending in Food Services and Drinking Places registered at 95.4 billion dollars in monthly volume according to U.S. Census Bureau MARTS data, but top-line resilience conceals a sharp contraction in underlying demand. Real transaction volume declined by 1.6 percent year-over-year, masked by 3.8 …