Thanks for Visiting!

Register for free to get the full story.

Sign Up
Already have a Placer.ai account? Log In

QSR Recap

by 
Shira Petrack
 on 
November 23, 2021
QSR Recap

Nationwide dining visits fell dramatically following the outbreak of the COVID pandemic and remained low throughout the beginning of 2021. But dining visits have been slowly and sporadically climbing back up, with October dining visits almost back to 2019 levels. In the context of the nationwide dining recovery, we dove into foot traffic patterns at some of the QSR visit leaders.  

Mixed Performance Within the QSR Sector

Many of the burger and chicken QSR leaders saw their visits drop dramatically over the pandemic. As late as June, year-over-two-year visits were still significantly lower than they had been in June 2019 for many popular fast food brands. But as COVID cases continue to decline, three types of recovery paths are emerging. 

The first category includes brands who managed to thrive over the pandemic, such as In-N-Out, Shake Shack, White Castle, Portillo’s, and Popeyes. Year-over-two-year visits to the chicken and biscuits concept were up by double-digits for much of the year, with October visits exceeding 2019 visits by 25.9%. Much of this was driven by expansion, or in the case of Popeyes, the long term boost from the Chicken Wars in summer 2019.

The second category consists of brands that saw a clear decrease in offline visits during the pandemic, but that have now succeeded in essentially closing the year-over-two-year visit gap. This category includes Wendy’s and McDonald’s, which saw year-over-two-year visits in October down by 1.9% and up by 3.3%, respectively. 

The third recovery profile involves brands that are still feeling the impact of the COVID-induced drop in in-person dining. This includes brands such as Burger King, Chick-fil-A, and KFC, where October dining visits were still down by 10.1%, 15.3%, and 20.4%, respectively. But it’s important to note that a drop in foot traffic performance does not necessarily mean that the brands themselves are struggling – the increase in delivery orders March 2020 is likely attenuating the impact of the slow return of in-person dining for many of these QSR chains. The same is true for those who succeeded  - while visits may have been impacted by expansion, their overall success was heavily dependent on the strength of their delivery, takeaway and drive thru channels.

Increase in Short Visits Across the Board 

One trend that affected all the QSR brands analyzed – whether they have recovered their pre-pandemic foot traffic or not – is the increase in short visits. The average share of shorter visits out of the total number of visits in August through October 2019 stood at around 50% across the board. In August through October 2021, the share of short visits climbed to around 60% for all the brands analyzed. 

This likely reflects the increase in drive-thru and take-out orders since the start of the pandemic. But it can also mean that diners who are going back to restaurants for the social experience these establishments provide are not visiting these QSR chains with the same expectations as before.

Several Strategies for Success

Turning our focus to the two QSR brands that have already closed their pandemic visit gap shows that even for the high-performing QSR players, visit patterns are not quite back to normal – and there was not a “one size fits all” strategy for QSR brands trying to weather the COVID disruption. 

McDonald’s appears to have closed its visit gap by consolidating its position as lunch and dinner provider. The fast food king’s lunchtime visits share (between the hours of 11 AM and 2 PM) did drop – from 31.9% of total visits in Q3 2019 to 29.1% of total visits in Q3 2021, but this was a much smaller drop than that experienced by Wendy’s, where the share of visits between 11 AM and 2 PM out of total daily visits fell from 40.5% to 35.1%. Critically, the decrease in lunch time visits was seen across the leading fast-food brands, and so McDonald’s relatively small drop in lunch visits indicates that the QSR king has remained the dominant QSR brand in the United States.

Wendy’s, meanwhile, appears to have taken the pandemic as an opportunity to carve out a new niche for itself as a breakfast leader. Like McDonald’s – and like most other QSR players – its share of lunchtime visits fell while the share of late afternoon and evening visits increased. But the dramatic jump was in morning visits, which increased from 3.6% in Q3 2019 to 5.3% in Q3 2021. This is all the more impressive given that the brand was essentially a non-player in the breakfast space pre-pandemic. 

As the pandemic upheaved the dining industry, itt seems that Wendy’s decided to take what had previously been an area of weakness and work on turning it into a new strength, rather than to just keep on doing what it had been doing pre-pandemic and hope for the best. As of now, it certainly looks like the gamble paid off. 

Will Wendy’s morning visits continue to rise? Will Burger King, Chick-fil-A, and KFC close their visit gap? 

Visit placer.ai to find out. 

Get 3 brand & industry
breakdowns every week

Subscribe to the newsletter

Great! Prepare your inbox for data-driven insights...
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Get a Demo

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please provide a valid email
Please enter your email
Please enter company name

Thanks for reaching out!

One of our experts will be in touch soon

Try Placer.ai Free
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
Why Are Specialty Grocers Thriving in 2023?
The CAVA Craze: A Location Intelligence Perspective on the Mediterranean Marvel
How Will Primark’s US Expansion Impact Target?
All Eyes on Eyewear
Northwestern U.S. Grocery Dive
Return of the Lunch: Salad Chains Are Thriving
Retail Media Networks – Off the Beaten Track
Bet Your Bottom Dollar: Discount and Dollar Stores Drive Foot Traffic
Ulta & Lululemon: Discretionary Spending On The Up
The Score After Q1: Sporting Goods Chains
Who Uses NYC Airports: Biting Into The Big Apple’s Main Transport Hubs
Off Price: Strength in The Face of Retail Challenges
Visits Improve for Home Improvement
Walmart, Target & Wholesalers in Q1 2023 – The Return of Mission-Driven Shopping?
Department Store Roundup: Q1 2023
Placer.ai Office Index: April 2023 Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index, April 2023 – A Rebound on the Horizon?
How Will Bed Bath & Beyond’s Bankruptcy Impact the Retail Space?
Buffet Restaurants: Filling Up on Foot Traffic
Thrift Stores: Vintage Visits Drive New Age in Apparel
The Windy City: A Hub of Post-Pandemic Opportunity
Diving into Dining Traffic - Q1 2023
Bring On The Joe
A Dollar (or more) For Your Thoughts: Five Below and pOpshelf
Dining Out With The Cheesecake Factory
Retail Foot Traffic Recap – March 2023
Digging Into 2023: McDonald’s and Chipotle Update
Placer.ai Office Index: March 2023 Recap
How Did Key Retail Categories Perform in Q1 2023?
Northeastern USA Grocery Dive
Movie Theaters Storylines for 2023
Ollie's Bargain Outlet: Discounters are Evolving
Leveraging Brick-and-Mortar Retail in 2023
America’s Evolving Work Patterns: A Deep-Dive into New York and Chicago
Placer.ai Mall Index March 2023
Tuning Into Record Stores
Five Franchises To Watch in 2023
What’s Next For Domestic Tourism?
It’s Showtime! Movie Theaters in the Spotlight
5 Limited Time Offers (LTOs) Driving Restaurant Traffic
Department Store Deep-Dive: Belk
Regional Grocery Chains Staying Ahead of the Competition
Five Chains that Rightsized for Success
Unlocking the Potential of Offline Retail Media Networks
Dining Out With Darden
What’s in Store for Self-Storage?
Nike & lululemon Update: Strong Performance Amid Expansion Plans
Many Ways to Win: Midwest Grocery Deep Dive
Retail, Reinvented: The Rise of the Pop-Up Shop
Navigating a New Normal in Business Travel & Commutes
Placer.ai Office Index: February 2023 Recap
Retail Categories Staying Strong in Volatile Environment
Ulta Beauty: Poised for Success into 2023
Placer.ai Mall Index February 2023: Reasons for Continued Optimism
Catching Up With DICK’s & Hibbett
The Miami-Dade Arena: An Advertising Slam Dunk
Car Washes Revving Up Visits
Tuesday Morning and Sunrises in Home Furnishing
Dining & Valentine’s Day Recap
2023: The Year of the Discount Store
Aldi’s Success Highlights Growing Demand for Value Groceries
5 Retail & Service Categories Holding onto Pandemic Gains in 2023
Visitor Insights from Super Bowl 2023
2023 First Look: Home Improvement Update
How Are Target, Walmart, and Wholesale Clubs Faring in 2023?
Department Store Deep-Dive: Nordstrom
Off-Price: Taking Off in Uncertain Times
Checking in On Middle-Class Hubs
Who Attends the Super Bowl?
Placer.ai Office Index: January 2023 Recap
Focusing On Fitness: Q4 and January Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index: January 2023 – Returning Mall Normalcy?
Location Intelligence Insights Into Concert Attendance
Winning Dining Strategies for 2023
In-N-Out Burger: What to Expect as the Brand Moves East
Location Intelligence Breakdown: Coffee Caps-Off 2022
Digitally Native Brands Lean Into Brick & Mortar
Washington, D.C. Population Changes & Migration Trends
A Location Intelligence Perspective on Macy’s Rightsizing
Amazon-Powered Shopping: The Future of Brick-and-Mortar Grocery?
Cold Weather, Hot Visits: Diving into Winter Resorts
Wawa and 7-Eleven: Leaning Into the “Slurpee Effect”
2022 and Beyond: Catching Up With McDonald’s & Chipotle
Let’s Have Some Fun! Going Out Is In
Placer.ai’s Q4 2022 Quarterly Index
Placer.ai Adds Industry Executives to Leadership Team To Drive Company's Next Phase of Growth
5 Emerging Retail Formats: 2023’s Brick-and-Mortar Evolution
Grocery Update: Zooming in on the Lone Star State
2022 Office Recap: The Year of the TGIF Work Week
What Lies Ahead for Brick-and-Mortar Luxury in 2023
Placer.ai Mall Indexes: December 2022 Recap
Looking Back on 2022’s Holiday Shopping Season
Post-Pandemic Migration Trends in New York
Top Retailers for 2023
The Live Sports Advertising Opportunity
Domestic Migration to the Mountain States: Small Shifts with Big Implications
New Year, New Food: 5 Dining Trends For 2023
Announcing Placer.ai’s COVID RECOVERY DASHBOARD
This is Why Shop-in-Shops Are Everywhere
Super Saturday 2022 Recap