PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. — The total number of customer transactions at restaurant chains nationwide showed improvement for the second week in a row during the week ending April 26, according study by The NPD Group (NPD), a market research company headquartered in New York. The study indicated that total customer transactions were down 32 percent for the week ending Sunday, April 26 relative to that time a year ago. Transaction volume had been down 36 percent for the week ending Sunday, April 19, relative to that time in 2019. Most restaurants in the country have been either closed outright or are operating with severe restrictions since the COVID-19 outbreak began. Even as the economy slowly restarts state-by-state, many consumers remain hesitant to return to dining rooms.
NPD reported that approximately 20,000 restaurants restarted in Georgia on April 27, followed by 60,000 in Texas, with both states enforcing strict guidelines for reduced occupancy and heightened sanitation. While more than 300,000 restaurants may potentially reopen for dine-in service in the coming weeks, NPD notes that an unknown number of restaurants may not be able to afford to ever open again. In New York, the epicenter of the coronavirus in the Northeast, restaurants will be among the last businesses to restart operation, as part of “Phase 3” of a gradual reopening plan that is slated to begin with construction and manufacturing businesses after May 15. During this cycle, as e-commerce has changed the way people shop, food and beverage concepts have emerged as one of the most active categories of brick-and-mortar retail, helping landlords maintain occupancy rates at their properties.