Only one in 10 are spending more. Furthermore, nearly half of survey respondents said they don't eat breakfast out during the week (47%) or weekend (45%).[image-nocss]
"We see an increasingly competitive market for restaurant breakfast, even though sales have declined," said Eric Giandelone, director of research for Mintel Foodservice. "Restaurants are refreshing their breakfast menus, but I believe reduced consumer spending, as well as relatively high unemployment, will limit sales growth over the next year."
Restaurant breakfast and brunch sales fell 3.4% from 2007 to 2009, according to Mintel. The category is expected to grow only modestly through 2011 before picking up speed. All told, Mintel forecasts the breakfast foodservice market will expand by 13% from 2009 to 2014.
"To overcome contracting sales, restaurant operators need to be keenly aware of what drives people into restaurants for breakfast," Giandelone said. For example, Mintel found people are mostly looking for low prices and convenience on weekdays, while food quality and menu variety are more important to weekend breakfast diners.
"Restaurant operators can also perk up sales by realizing that many diners crave breakfast outside traditional breakfast hours," said Giandelone.
The top thing breakfast diners told Mintel they would like to see more of at restaurants was "all-day breakfast" (36% weekday, 38% weekend). More value meals were also desired (32%).
Chicago-based Mintel is a leading global supplier of consumer, product and media intelligence.
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