All-Day Breakfast Boosts Restaurant Sales

When they say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, it applies to restaurants, too.

Fast food chains that serve breakfast are noticing an increase in sales. Research firm NPD Group found that breakfast visits were up by four percent for the year as of May 2015.

Restaurants like Dunkin' Donuts are considered to be "growth drivers" because they serve breakfast sandwiches all day. At Taco Bell, breakfast accounts for seven percent of sales. McDonald's might be getting in on all-day breakfast by October, too.

Sara Senatore, an analyst with Sanford Bernstein, told Time that breakfast accounts for about 25 percent of McDonald's sales and roughly about 40 percent of profit throughout the United States. In other words, breakfast is really great for the restaurant businesses.

"When people work, they eat out more often," Malcolm Knapp, creator of the Knapp-Track sales and guest count tracking service, said in an interview with Time. "Fast-food chains are the first to benefit because [people entering or returning to the workforce] are going to go for the more affordable stuff," Knapp said.

In a survey conducted in 2014 by the National Restaurant Association, 72 percent of adults said they wished breakfast was served all day.

"It's hard to screw up breakfast... everything goes well with bacon," Knapp told Time.