NPD's ReCount study reports a .7 percent increase in unit counts in fall 2013.
The U.S. restaurant count increased by less than one percent from a year ago reaching a total of 633,043 units, according to the NPD Group's Fall 2013 ReCount, a count of commercial restaurant locations in the United States compiled in the spring and fall each year. Restaurant units increased by 4,179, a .7 percent increase over last year.
Other key data points from NPD's ReCount include:
- Restaurant chains grew counts by 1 percent to a total of 281,613 units, an increase of 3,171 units.
- Independent restaurants totaled 351,430, up 1,008 units.
- Quick service restaurants grew units to 333,970, up 2 percent.
- Full-service restaurants declined by 1 percent to 299,073 units. This segment includes casual dining, midscale/family dining, and fine dining locations.
- Fast-casual, which is a restaurant category under the quick service segment, increased units by 902 for a total of 16,215. This marks a 6 percent increase.
According to NPD's CREST study, which tracks consumer use of commercial and non-commercial foodservice outlets daily, total restaurant traffic visits were flat in the year ending December 2013, compared to the same period last year. U.S. consumers made 61 billion restaurant visits during the period.
