WASHINGTON —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
While customer traffic at restaurants remained sluggish during the month of October, operators nevertheless are sounding more hopeful about their prospects for the future, according to the National Restaurant Association. —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
Consumers also appear to be allowing a little more light to seep into their previously dark forecasts. The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had slipped to 48.7 in October, perked up a bit in November. And while the Present Situation component of the index for November was almost unchanged at 21.0 from 21.1 in October, the Expectations index rose from 67.0 in October to 68.5 last month. —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
At the same time, industry observers are hoping that the 195 million Americans who went bargain hunting over Black Friday weekend might have shared some of their holiday capital with restaurants as they trekked from store to store. —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
“Shopping is a contact sport; you build up an appetite,” said Scott Krugman, spokesman for the National Retail Federation in Washington, D.C. “In terms of traffic, the people were out there, and many consumers are doing their shopping at malls, which gives plenty of opportunities for chain restaurants in particular. There is easy access, and the logical place for shoppers to take a break would be at a restaurant. So the opportunity for restaurants was there.” —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
Moreover, industry observers hope the trend bodes well for continued holiday business this season. —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
“While retailers are encouraged by the number of Americans who shopped over Black Friday weekend, they know they have their work cut out for them to keep people coming back through Christmas,” said Tracy Mullin, president and chief executive of the National Retail Federation. —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
Total retail spending for the long weekend reached an estimated $41.2 billion. —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
Experts are quick to point out, however, that the slight consumer confidence improvement is fragile at best. —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
“Consumer Confidence posted a slight gain in November,” said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “The Present Situation Index, however, was virtually unchanged and remains at levels not seen in 26 years. The moderate improvement in the short-term outlook was the result of a decrease in the percent of consumers expecting business and labor market conditions to worsen, as opposed to an increase in the percent of consumers expecting conditions to improve. Income expectations remain very pessimistic, and consumers are entering the holiday season in a very frugal mood.” —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
The Conference Board’s most recent labor market outlook reported that the percentage of consumers expecting to see the economy add more jobs in the near term decreased to 15.2 percent from 16.8 percent. However, those expecting a further decrease in the number of jobs fell to 23.1 percent from 26.1 percent. —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
Despite the current wave of uncertainty, restaurateurs seem to be gazing a little more optimistically toward the future. The NRA’s Restaurant Performance Index, or RPI, for October posted its first gain in three months, registering 98.0 for the month, an increase of 0.5 percent over its September level of 97.5. Based on a 100-point scale, the RPI is a monthly composite that tracks the health and outlook of the U.S. foodservice industry by monitoring sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures. —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
Despite the uptick, though, the index remained below the 100 mark—which reflects contraction of key industry indicators—for the 24th consecutive month. —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
Nevertheless, the NRA reports that operators generally appear to have a more positive attitude about future business prospects. —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
“Although restaurant operators continue to report soft same-store sales and customer traffic levels, they are somewhat more optimistic about improving conditions in the months ahead,” said Hudson Riehle, the NRA’s senior vice president of the Research and Knowledge Group. “Restaurant operators reported a positive six-month economic outlook for the fourth consecutive month, and proportion planning for capital expenditures rose five percentage points.” —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
The NRA survey’s Current Situation Index—which measures current trends in same-store sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures—was 96.5 in October, an increase of 0.4 percent over September levels and the index’s first improvement in three months. Again, however, that sub-100 figure signifies contraction. —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
Same-store sales remained negative in October, marking the 17th consecutive month. According to the survey, 22 percent of operators reported same-store sales gains between October 2008 and October 2009, the same number as in September. Meanwhile, 61 percent reported same-store sales declines for the same period, down a point from those restaurateurs in September who said sales were slower. —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
Customer traffic also continued to be soft in October—marking the 26th consecutive month this barometer has been negative—although some slight improvement was reported, the NRA survey showed. Twenty-one percent of operators saw an increase in customer traffic between October 2008 and October 2009, up from 20 percent who reported gains in September. Sixty percent of operators reported traffic decreases in October, down from 62 percent in September. —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
But while overall business conditions remained difficult in October, 40 percent of restaurateurs said they had made capital expenditures for equipment, expansion or remodeling over the past three months, up from 37 percent who reported they had made investments in September. —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
Meanwhile, the survey’s Expectation Index—which measures operators’ six-month outlook for same-store sales, employees, capital expenditures and business conditions—increased 0.6 percent over September’s level to 99.6 in October. —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
More operators are cautiously optimistic about the direction the economy would take in the next six months, the survey said. Thirty percent anticipate economic conditions to improve during that period, while 20 percent said they would deteriorate further. Last month 28 percent said the economy would improve while 20 percent thought it would worsen. —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.
Riding that mild wave of guarded optimism, 42 percent of those operators polled said they would invest in a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling in the next six months, an increase over the 37 percent who reported similarly last month.— [email protected] —Both restaurateurs and consumers alike say they are feeling more upbeat about their economic outlooks as the ill-fated year of 2009 sputters to a close, boding well for business trends in the new year.