Canadian Industrial Outlook: Food Services—Summer 2017

Looming Slowdown in Consumer Spending Growth—Strong consumer spending to start the year has buoyed the industry’s short-term sales performance. However, elevated debt levels, slowing job growth, and easing house prices will take some of the steam out of consumer spending in the second half of this year. That will weigh on the industry’s growth potential.

Tabling Minimum Wage Hikes—Alberta has already committed to a $15 wage floor by 2019, while other provinces are considering a similar move. In an industry that is extremely dependent on low-wage work, remaining competitive will depend on restaurants’ ability to contain labour cost increases or pass the higher costs on to consumers.

Reinventing Digital—The food services industry is increasingly investing in mobile pre-ordering technologies, as operators look to take advantage of Canadians’ growing connectivity with their smartphones.