Canadians love dining out, which explains why 47 per cent of the population visits a restaurant every day. But, traditional foodservice isn’t the only segment reaping the rewards of foodservice traffic as customer visits to commercial restaurants steadily increased during 2012, surpassing 6.5-billion visits annually, an increase of 200-million visits over 2011, according to NPD’s CREST research.

As 2012 draws to a close, 2013 dawns with renewed hope and optimism. It’s projected to be a year of “recovery” for the Canadian restaurant industry with consumers expected to increase visits and spending at restaurants across Canada, according to the NPD Group’s “Future of Foodservice” report. To capitalize on growth, operators can take advantage of a simple and effective method of creating awareness to ramp up businesses and improve visibility — it’s called online marketing.

It’s that time of year again, and many foodservice operators are hoping the holiday season brings its usual dose of seasonal cheer to the industry.

Fall may be harvest season for farmers, but for restaurateurs, the bountiful crop of patio-loving consumers tapers off as the weather cools. The drop in commercial foodservice traffic from the summer (June, July and August) to the fall (September, October and November) was just under four per cent in 2011, which equates to a decline of 65-million visits and is consistent with years past.