• by Teresa Buyikian , October 2, 2024

As QSRs continue the battle of the meal deal for share of stomach well into fall, another winner is actually emerging in terms of foot traffic: fast casuals.

Per a new report from foot traffic analytics firm Placer.ai, “A QSR and Fast Casual Face-Off,” through the first half of 2024, fast-casual restaurants visits grew 3.2% YOY, as compared to only 0.4% for QSR restaurants. Research found “rising QSR prices have narrowed the price gap between fast food and the more premium offerings of (fast-casual) chains.”

The reasons for the increase in traffic are more than just competitive pricing. A key driver in the move toward fast casual is actually the increasingly blurred line between the category and QSR. Fast casuals are revving up their ease and speed factors to compete with fast food by adding amenities such as drive-thrus.

“As consumers become more familiar with digital orders, it's likely that we'll see more fast-casual chains add drive-thrus,” R.J. Hottovy, head of analytical research at Placer.ai, told QSR Insider. “We've already seen chains like Chipotle and Sweetgreen drive higher visits per location by pairing mobile ordering and pickup windows, which has led to greater sales per location.”

QSRs are continuing to push midweek deals into colder months, and with good reason. Per the report, though both QSR and fast-casual weekend traffic increased YOY 2.1% and 4.0%, respectively, fast casual continued to increase traffic during the week (2.8% YoY) while QSR experienced a slight weekday YoY decline (-0.2%).

This may be due in part to employees returning to the office, and either eating out for lunch at a nearby fast casual or picking up dinner on their commute home. Supporting this, the report found that a higher percentage of fast-casual visits, 63.6%, originated from between two and 30 miles away, compared to just 56.8% for QSRs.

It also may be due to those wanting fast-casual restaurant food at home but moving away from ordering delivery. 

“Drive-thru windows have also been effective at attracting customers who don't want to pay delivery fees, which is why we see such strength from visitors driving two to 30 miles to visit a fast-casual restaurant,” added Hottovy. 

Looking ahead, Hottovy told QSR Insider, “Consumers are likely to remain price-sensitive, but also willing to visit restaurants that offer new menu innovations. We expect bundled value meals to be featured on QSR menus in 2025, while fast-casual chains innovate more with new ingredients and products.”