Millennials Fuel Burgeoning Spending At Restaurants

America’s eating habits are evolving fairly rapidly, and that’s not good news for grocery stores. But it is good news for restaurants, where consumer spending has for the first time ever outstripped spending at the supermarket, according to Commerce Department trend data going back 23 years. Part of the reason is a “generational shift:” restaurants meet the needs of growing numbers of millennials who like to dine out. Not so for older Americans, who are much more likely to shop at the grocery store and cook at home. A recent Gallup poll found that the share of 51- to 69-year-olds spending more on groceries (compared to a year ago) surpassed those spending less by 45 percent. Nevertheless, “grocery stores are finding it harder to make headway with shoppers.”