Posts Tagged ‘trends’

By Karen Axelton

For America’s restaurant owners, the casual dining segment has been a hot market for the past several years, helping restaurants get over the difficulties posed by the economic downturn. But what does the future hold for casual dining? Technomic’s Future of Casual Dining Report points out there are both challenges and opportunities in this niche. Here’s a closer look.

Challenges to casual dining are primarily related to the continued economic downturn:

• Customers are still watching their pennies. If your restaurant falls on the upscale end of the casual dining spectrum, this could hurt you; just 27 percent of consumers say they are visiting these restaurants more often than they did a year ago. In addition, fewer than half (41 percent) of consumers say that upscale casual restaurants are worth the expense because of the ambience.
• Consumers are still eating out, but most often at the lower end of the price range. Over four out of five casual-dining consumers say they visit fast-casual (85 percent) and traditional casual-dining restaurants (82 percent) at least monthly. Some 40 percent of casual-dining consumers visit upscale casual-dining restaurants once a month.
• Eateries at both the low end and high end of the price range are being cannibalized as consumers move to the middle. Consumers are more likely to visit fast-casual or traditional casual dining restaurants than they are either fast-food or upscale casual restaurants. The report describes this as “trading up and trading down.”

Those are the challenges; now, what about the opportunity?

• Compared to two years ago, casual dining eateries have more opportunities to capture business during different dayparts. Consumers in the survey showed more willingness to visit casual dining establishments for all types of occasions, including routine lunches, everyday occasions and meals with co-workers, but also family events and special occasions.
• Breakfast is another area where consumers are showing great interest in casual dining. Fast-food restaurants have led the way in adding breakfast to their offerings, and now fast-casual restaurants are doing the same—they’ve expanded their breakfast menus by 31 percent since 2011. However, Technomic notes there is still plenty of opportunity in this arena, since more than two-thirds of fast-casual eateries still don’t offer a breakfast menu.

Image by Flickr user israelavila (Creative Commons)

By Rieva Lesonsky

It’s hard to believe in today’s economy, but sales of pet supplies (not counting pet food) hit a staggering $11.1 billion last year, up 2 percent compared to 2010, reports a new Packaged Facts study, Pet Supplies and Pet Care Products in the U.S.

Although annual growth in pet product sales is still down from its record high of 5 percent in 2007, the research company predicts that pent-up demand will gradually lead to an even bigger rise in sales as the economy improves.

Driving the sales of pet products are these key factors:

Human-animal bond: Pet owners are increasingly seeing their furry friends as members of the family, and smart marketers are playing up the human-animal bond to drive sales. They’re also marketing pet products using the same tactics that are used for human ones, such as getting celebrity endorsements, making health benefits claims and packaging them as stylishly as products for people.

Upper-income households: Affluent consumers are a crucial market for pet product suppliers. They are willing to spend a lot of money on their animals. Superpremium and specialty pet products targeted to these consumers are a big driver of the growth in pet sales.

Specialized pet health problems: The population of animals with special needs, such as senior pets and obese pets, is growing, giving rise to new products and services for these animals.

Nontraditional sales channels: Pet products marketers are expanding into new venues such as dollar stores and wholesale clubs on the low end of the spectrum, and home stores and department stores on the high end.

Crossing over: Packaged Facts says more pet companies are crossing over from pet food into non-food items and vice versa. For instance, makers of pet chew toys like Kong and Nylabone are expanding into edible pet treats.

Exclusivity: Manufacturers are developing tight bonds with retailers, offering exclusive relationships that border on private label programs. For example, PetSmart’s “exclusive brand” strategy includes brands such as Martha Stewart, Kong, GNC, Toys “R” Us, and Bret Michaels.

Clearly, while the pet products market is becoming more competitive, there’s still room for smart business owners to take advantage of the growth in this industry.

Image by Flickr user Epsos.de (Creative Commons)