Fast-food footfall falls as restaurant growth slows
Traffic in the first quarter are now negative even if chains continue to expand.
UK fast-food recorded its first traffic decline in Q1 2026, falling 1.2% year-on-year despite continued store growth, according to Meaningful Vision data.
The drop contrasts with a broadly flat performance in Q1 2025, when traffic was recorded at 0%, or 1.4% after February was recalculated for the same number of days.
Over the same period, outlet growth more than halved, slowing from 2.4% in Q1 2025 to 1.1% in Q1 2026.
"The most important signal in Q1 is that fast-food has moved into negative traffic, even though outlet numbers are still growing. A 1.2% decline may look modest, but for a value-led segment that usually benefits from trading down, it shows consumers are becoming much more selective," said Maria Vanifatova, CEO of Meaningful Vision.
Maria Vanifatova, even if operators are still expanding, the slower pace of restaurant growth shows that the market is becoming more cautious, whilst weaker traffic underlines the pressure on demand.
