Consumers cut back on lunch and dinner visits in 2013, per NPD.

U.S. consumers cut back on their restaurant visits at lunch and supper in 2013, but increased their visits at breakfast for the fourth consecutive year, reports The NPD Group. More than 12.5 billion breakfast visits were made to U.S. foodservice outlets in 2013, a 3 percent gain compared to 2012.

Quick service, which accounts for about 80 percent of total restaurant morning meals, showed the strongest increase in breakfast visits of all restaurant segments with a 4 percent increase. Morning meal visits to midscale/family dining restaurants declined by 3 percent.

NPD's forecast indicates the sun will continue to shine on the breakfast daypart, according to NPD's A Look into the Future of Foodservice study. NPD projects total restaurant morning meal visits will grow by 7 percent over the next 9 years. Quick service breakfast traffic is expected to increase by 9 percent.

"A restaurant morning meal serves a variety of needs. In addition to helping us jump start our day, it satisfies the need for convenience, is less costly than other restaurant meals, and is readily available to us," says Bonnie Riggs, NPD's restaurant industry analyst.