Consumer Trends

Consumer Trends, Fast Casual, Fast Food, News, Story

Are Restaurant Customers Starting to Feel Digital Fatigue?

The 14th edition of William Blair’s restaurant tracker, released Monday, showed engagement among consumers taper off in March, with 81 percent of respondents noting they eat at restaurants at least a few times a month. That was 92 percent in December and 91 percent a year ago. The percentage dining out a least a few […]

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Consumer Trends, Fast Casual, Fast Food, Finance, News, Story

Higher Gas Prices are Challenging the Restaurant Industry Further

Rising gas prices (up 21.2 percent) led to a 0.9 percent jump in consumer price in March, a steeper result than February’s 0.3 percent, and the largest monthly increase since June 2022. Food prices didn’t change, but menu figures climbed 0.2 percent. Headline inflation hiked 3.3 percent, year-over-year, in March. That, too, was a sharp […]

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Consumer Trends, Fast Casual, Fast Food, News, Outside Insights, Story

How the Ozempic Era will Reshape QSR

Since the launch of Ozempic in 2017, use of GLP-1 drugs – whether for health or weight loss reasons – has increasingly gained social acceptance.  These drugs have entered mainstream consciousness, with celebrities openly endorsing them and demand steadily rising. According to a recent study, one in eight adults says they are currently taking a […]

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Consumer Trends, Fast Casual, Fast Food, News, Story, Technology

Restaurants Say Tech Innovation Isn’t Taking Away Jobs

The National Restaurant Association’s 2026 State of the Industry report calls for sector sales to hit $1.55 trillion as operators add north of 100,000 jobs. But, of course, there are layers to the growth as pressures mount and guest spending remains weary. For this piece, however, we’ll focus on the operational findings of the Association’s […]

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Consumer Trends, Fast Casual, Fast Food, Finance, Franchising, News, Story

QSR Franchising Industry Slated for Cautious Growth in 2026

Given the backdrop of ongoing cost and traffic challenges, the International Franchise Association projected a conservative 0.5 growth rate for the QSR sector in 2026, according to its latest Franchising Outlook Report. That would take the number of QSR franchise establishments to roughly 281,000 units employing 5.2 million people. And aligned with 2026’s tempered pace, […]

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Consumer Trends, Fast Casual, Fast Food, Finance, News, Outside Insights, Story

What Top Restaurant Performers Did Differently in Q3 

The Q3 2025 earnings season has offered a look into how restaurant brands are navigating value-seeking guests, sticky wage and commodity pressure, and channel mix shifts. In this analysis, we look at how brands performed on two critical metrics: quarter-over-quarter revenue growth and operating margin change to understand who’s pulling ahead and how.  Analyzing Growth Performance  Evaluating restaurant growth performance through a four-quadrant framework helps clarify how effectively […]

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