Independent Operators

Nationwide restaurant foot traffic up 52% since start of 2021

Photo by istock.com

August 19, 2021

Foot traffic and in-store visits in food and beverage establishments is up 52% since the start of 2021, according to the data from Zenreach.

The research firm's National Customer Foot Traffic Report is published monthly and compares customer store visits to brick-and-mortar businesses from current month to visits captured in January 2021.

Some cities have seen a huge increase from the start of the year, including San Jose, California, with a 188% spike, and Denver, Colorado, with a 146% increase, according to the report.

The top 10 cities that posted the biggest foot traffic increases include:

• San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California: 188.17%.
• San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, California: 176.12%.
• Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, California: 154.78%.
• Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colorado: 146.33%.
• Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, Illinois/Indiana/Wisconsin: 143.83%.
• San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, California: 132.44%.
• Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Massachusetts/New Hampshire: 125.04%.
• New York-Newark-Jersey City, New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania: 123.95%.
• Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California: 100.47%.
• Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, California: 100.46%.

"The data shows that customer foot traffic to physical stores and restaurants has flattened over the month of July, which we consider a reflection of the growing concern over new Delta variants. As mask mandates and restrictions are reinstated, we are expecting to see foot traffic slow across the board." Megan Wintersteen, vice president of Marketing for Zenreach, said in the report.