AS INFLATION RISES, SOME RESTAURANTS ARE LOWERING PRICES
Restaurant business is running a story talking about inflation and lowering prices. I see it differently as full-service operators are leaning into discounts and value menus to boost traffic because of the ongoing slowing trends. Increased discounting will not be suitable for profitability, especially against last year's peak margins for most operators. I expect many more stories like this in the coming months.
Delivery Trends
We are short DASH
It's not all bad news in the delivery space. Despite increases in prices and fees, online delivery services, such as Doordash and Grubhub are still growing in popularity. Online food delivery services saw a 12% increase in popularity since 2021 and a 68% increase since 2020. The data also show that frequent fast food / casual diners are likelier online food delivery customers.
TOST expanding payroll capabilities
Toast (TOST) announced that it had acquired Sling, an employee scheduling, communication, and management solution. Through features including scheduling templates, in-app messaging, and multi-location team management, Sling helps restaurant staff better manage labor costs and helps increase employee job satisfaction. One of TOST's most significant opportunities is in payroll management. Sling adds to Toast's growing suite of Toast Payroll & Team Management products, including Toast Payroll, Toast Tips Manager, and Toast Pay Card & PayOut. Through its Team Management Suite, Toast can empower restaurants to simplify scheduling and communication across their team, control their labor costs, and pay employees faster through one integrated platform. A strong relationship between restaurants and their employees is crucial. Roughly half of the restaurant operators expect recruiting and retaining employees to be their top challenge in 2022, making it critical for every restaurant to efficiently manage their limited staffing and deepen the connection to employees.
