More than half of fast food visits are with family members (52 percent); 29 percent of these visits with a spouse/partner; and 23 percent are with children under the age of 18 which points to the potential influence that children can have on deciding where to eat.
Fast-casual restaurants (i.e., Chipotle, Panera Bread) have the highest sales per occasion while Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's are among the restaurants with the lowest average spend per visit.
"Our research found that not only did Chipotle and Panera Bread have the highest spend per occasion but their customer tended to dine in compared to getting carry-out. While their meals tend to cost more, having a 'captive' audience may be creating additional sales opportunities for these chains," Kleijngeld explains.
Panera and Chipotle both continue to report increases in same store sales while most other segments are retrenching.
