Monday March 16, 2026, 09:07:48
By Mark Kalinowski
Data out today from the U.S. Census shows that restaurants’ market share (with grocery stores/supermarkets making up the other component) was 56.5% in January 2026, a mere -20 basis points below the all-time monthly record of 56.7% set in November 2025. So, even though same-store sales for most large restaurant concepts during the first part of Q1 2026 left something to be desired, this dynamic does not appear to be due to consumers meaningfully shifting their food spend to grocery stores and supermarkets.
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Wednesday March 11, 2026, 08:46:01
By Mark Kalinowski
The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) data shows that prices for food-at-home (grocery stores and supermarkets) rose by +2.4% in February — sequentially up by +30 basis points since January’s +2.1%. This +2.4% number for February compares with price for food-away-from-home (restaurants) that increased by +3.9% year-over-year in February (sequentially down by -10 basis points from January’s +4.0%). This marks the 35th month in a row for which restaurant pricing is outpacing grocery/supermarket pricing.
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Thursday March 5, 2026, 07:00:00
By Mark Kalinowski
Intouch Insight recently published the 2026 edition of its annual “Pizza Delivery and Carryout Study.” In this publication, the results from 600 mystery shops across ten different pizza concepts were examined. These brands include Domino’s, Pizza Hut, and Papa Johns – the publicly-traded pizza concepts that rank #1, #2, and #4 in terms of domestic systemwide sales within the pizza sector. In general, this report from Intouch Insight is the most comprehensive report of its type — focusing on the pizza sector — that we have come across in our 25+ years of researching the restaurant industry. Today, we look at results from the Intouch Insight report in the critical areas of Speed of Service, Order Accuracy, and Delivery Driver Friendliness.
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