Older people have accounted for an increasing share the commercial foodservice industry's traffic over the past five years while visits from Millennials have declined, according to The NPD Group, a leading global information company.
Baby Boomers and their seniors, who are called Mature Traditionalists, are making more visits to every segment of the restaurant industry than before the recession, a recently released NPD foodservice market report, "Boomers and Beyond -- Targeting for Success."
It used to be that older consumers ate out less than those in younger age groups, and so they got received less marketing attention from the restaurant industry -- which focused its efforts on those younger buyers. But boomers and older have increased their share of restaurant traffic by six percentage points since 2008 while Millennials have decreased their share by the same six percentage points.
Now the visit rate is the same for both groups, and the NPD report delves into what seniors expect from restaurant visits, the menu items they prefer, and what restaurant operators can do to attract and retain their business.
