Consumer spending plansConsumer spending plans

Fern Glazer

A gap has been growing between American consumers who are financially secure and those who are not.

But the two groups now have something in common: Both are cutting back on their number of restaurant visits.

While financially strained consumers have taken much of the blame for preventing foodservice from growing in recent years, new data from The NPD Group reveals that adults who are visiting restaurants less often than last year — or who have stopped making visits altogether — increasingly include both the financially strained and the financially comfortable.

To bring more consumers back to their establishments, operators must better understand the behavior of both groups, said NPD officials.

“[Operators] just thought it was fin...