The restaurant industry has been taking some hits as of late, particularly chain restaurants, which posted their fourth consecutive month of same-store sales declines. Industry experts point to growing competition from independent restaurants and the prepared food business for the drop in traffic.

“There are other parts of the industry growing faster than chains,” TDn2k (Transforming Data Into Knowledge) director of insights Victor Fernandez tells Bisnow. “When you look at consumer patterns, what we’re seeing is increasingly more takeout—people are coming in and picking something up.”

TDn2K, a Dallas-based research firm, accesses the sales of roughly 25,000 restaurants and 130 brands on a weekly basis to determine industry trends. In its latest Q3 report, the firm reported chain restaurant same-store sales were down by 1% in Q3 and visitor traffic was down by 3.4%. This was the weakest quarter for chain restaurant performance since 2010, TDn2K reports, and if the industry does not boost comparable sales it will continue its downward trajectory.

“We tracked information from chain restaurants from 2008 to today [and] traffic has declined by 13%," Victor tells us. "There are a lot more options out there when it comes to eating out. There is independent restaurant growth taking some of that traffic."