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Pitney Bowes Business Insight Predicts Quick-Service and Fast-Casual Restaurants Will Thrive in 2011 in Buffalo, Seattle and Rochester

Friday 14. January 2011 - Texas is the Best State for Mid-sized Quick Service Restaurant Markets and Washington State, Hawaii and Upstate New York are the Best Small Markets for this Sector.

Pitney Bowes Business Insight, a global leader in customer data, analytics and communication software and services, has analyzed public and proprietary data to predict the top growth locations in 2011 for quick service restaurants (QSRs) in large, medium and small markets. Topping the list of the best locations in the large markets (population greater than one million) is Buffalo, New York. Second and third place for QSRs in this segment are Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, Washington and Rochester, New York.
The three best locations for QSR growth for medium-size markets (population between 250,000 and one million) are all in Texas. First place is McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, followed by Brownsville-Harlingen and El Paso.
In the small-market segment (population less than 250,000), Yakima, Washington is the most promising location for a new restaurant. Hilo, Hawaii and Ithaca, New York followed in second and third place.
According to Forrester Research, U.S. consumers spend $320 billion annually on food away from home. As consumers continue to look for fast and economical food choices, companies are expanding QSR locations across the U.S. to serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. Pitney Bowes Business Insight experts reviewed changes in unemployment rates, retail sales, disposable income, and home prices, as well as competitive intensity of QSR chains with 25 or more outlets. The best markets for development were locations that showed improvement in employment growth, had strong retail and home sales, and exhibited a low presence of competitors.
“In today’s competitive restaurant market, intelligent site selection plays a critical role in the success and long-term growth of any QSR. The most effective businesses use objective analytical methods to zero in on the most profitable locations and form long-lasting relationships with customers,” said Al Beery, director of client services at Pitney Bowes Business Insight. “The best markets for QSR growth in 2011 is just an example of the research and predictive analytics models that we’ve been providing to restaurants and operators.”
As QSRs plan for expansion in 2011, Pitney Bowes Business Insight recommends the following best practices for successful site selection:
Develop spatial interactive models that factor in location intelligence data – QSRs shouldn’t rely only on estimates of sales potential to determine new locations
Understand the factors that most strongly influence performance and develop sub-models to address those scenarios, such as sales drivers or site characteristics – one size does not fit all when it comes to site modeling
Measure competition adequately – it’s not enough to analyze radius counts of competition without considering how store performance is affected by the positioning of a competitor. Some restaurant concepts benefit from nearby competition; others don’t