More Americans Eating Out

September 10, 2004 -- According to Meatingplace.com, research from U.S. Department of Agriculture?s Economic Research Service (ERS) suggests that between 2000 and 2020, Americans will increase their spending by about 18 percent per person at full-service restaurants and about 6 percent per person at fast-food establishments.

The predictions are based on a statistical model that incorporates the changing demographics of the U.S. population, including a projected rise in income, a decrease in the proportion of ?traditional? households, and an increase in the average age.

According to ERS, higher income people tend to spend more money on dining out. If household incomes were to grow by 1 percent annually on an inflation-adjusted basis, by 2020 this development alone would foster a 17-percent increase in per-person spending at full-service restaurants and a 7-percent increase at fast-food places.

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