Independent Operators

Webinar looks at dining, consumer trends in 2023-2024

Photo: Adobe Stock

December 1, 2023

In a webinar titled "Restaurants in 2024: A Data Driven Look," RJ Hottovy, head of analytical research for Placer.ai, a location-based analytics company powered by mobile data, took a look at some current trends in the restaurant industry.

There was a spike in restaurant visits in January and February of 2023 over 2022, as Americans were dealing with the Omicron variant last year.

"As the year's progressed, we've seen this sort of moderation and there's a lot of factors behind that," Hottovy said. "I think certainly consumers are feeling the pinch of inflation even as that has moderated, not just food — food at home and food away from home — but I also think that just rent and healthcare costs and general, everyday expenses has made things a little bit harder. While there certainly is demand for people to dine out, I think we've seen people less want to do it on a regular basis."

Hottovy said event days like Valentine's Day, Easter and Mothers' Day showed strong performance as people are willing to spend money around holiday and event periods.

Starting mid-way through the summer and into the fall months, we have seen that moderate even more, he added.

Higher-price point categories like fine dining and casual dining have seen more weakness in visits than QSRs and fast casuals.

"We have seen some categories that are doing relatively well, especially coffee being one of those," Hottovy said, "and I think there are two things really driving that. … One, I think we have on a year over year basis, we have seen people returning to work. Now, it's still well below what we've seen pre-pandemic, and I think the hybrid work model is here to stay. …. I think an even bigger factor is a lot of chains like Starbucks as well as some more of the upstarts like 7Brew or Scooter's Coffee, have also been drivers."

To watch the free webinar on demand, click here.