Operations

Drive-thrus prove to be lifeline for restaurants

Provided

September 1, 2020

Drive-thru restaurants have been a lifeline for restaurants during the pandemic, according to The NPD Group, which found that drive-thru restaurant visits increased by 26% in the April, May, and June quarter and represented 42% of all restaurant visits. In July, when more restaurants reopened, drive-thru visits still increased by 13%, the highest visit increase among the service modes of on-premises, carry-out and delivery, according to NPD's daily tracking of U.S. consumers' use of restaurants and other foodservice outlets.

Traditional quick-service restaurant chains have the majority of drive-thrus, and although visits declined to a historical low of -17% during the second calendar quarter, this segment fared far better than other restaurant categories and segments. For example, many fast casual restaurants, which, prior to the COVID pandemic outpaced the U.S. restaurant industry in visits and unit growth for several years, don't have drive-thru operations and experienced steeper declines, down 26% in the second calendar quarter than traditional quick-service restaurants. Full-service restaurants, most of which don't have a drive-thru and were most impacted by the mandated dine-in closure, saw traffic declines by 48% in April, May, and June with a decline improvement in July to -32%.

"Drive-thru operations are delivering a high ROI during the pandemic, offering convenience, speed and the comfort of social distance to consumers using them," David Portalatin, NPD food industry adviser and author of Eating Patterns in America, said in the release. "Fast casual and traditional quick service chains have already announced expansion plans for their drive-thru operations, and more chains will be doing the same. Drive-thru and other off-premises operations will be a major part of the U.S. restaurant industry's recovery and future."