Restaurant visits on a deal or discount decreased by 3% in the year ending in December 2012 compared to the same period a year earlier, reports the NPD Group. That marks the first year-over-year decrease in deal-driven visits in several years, which the researchers attribute to today’s deals not resonating with customers. In fact, deal-driven traffic has been on a downward trend for at least 4 consecutive years.
In 2008, deal-driven visits grew by 5%, helping to stave off the effects of the recession. The following year, deal-driven traffic growth had slipped to 3%, while in 2010 and 2011 there was no change at all.
As deal-driven traffic growth has declined, non-deal visits have experienced the opposite trend, from a 4% drop in 2009 to a 2% increase in 2012. As the researchers point out, the gap between deal ($5.97) and non-deal ($7.04) checks has narrowed as non-deal check sizes have increased. Read the rest at MarketingCharts.
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