CASUAL DINING
Casual dining sales saw an uptick in May 2023, with SSS at 2.9%, but traffic continues to be weak.
Sales across the U.S. saw an uptick in May. Florida SSS continues to be weaker than the rest of the country, with sales for the month coming in up 2.2% YoY compared to Texes being up 3.4% & California being up 3.9%. SSS in the week ending on May 14th was the main reason why we saw such strong numbers in the month. Casual dining traffic in the U.S. was down 4.7% YoY, with Texas showing the most weakness being down 5.7% in the month of May.
COMPARABLE SALES COMP GUEST COUNTS
USA 2.9% -4.7%
CALIFORNIA 3.9% -3.1%
TEXAS 3.4% -5.7%
FLORIDA 2.2% -4.9%
Knapp Track Weekly Data
COMP SALES COMP GUEST COUNTS
Week ending MAY 7 -14.2% -18.6%
Week ending MAY 14 22.6% 10.9%
Week ending MAY 21 4.5% -3.5%
Week ending MAY28 1.9% -5.3%
MONTH OF MAY 2023 2.9% -4.7%
Retail Sales
Spending slowed in recent months, but the Association’s measures of pent-up demand held relatively firm. Food service and drinking places sales increased 8.0% in May, decelerating 90bps from April. However, after adjusting for menu price increases, eating and drinking place sales declined 0.3% during the 12-month period. The two-year average decelerated 160bps to 12.1%. Total food spending, both at home and away from home increased 9.5% in May, decelerating from 10.1% in April. While the pace of sales growth slowed in recent months, restaurants were still top of mind for many consumers. Consumer spending may have leveled off in recent months, but the National Restaurant Association’s measures of pent-up demand held relatively firm. Forty-four percent of adults say they are not going out to restaurants as often as they would like, according to a survey fielded May 19-21, 2023. That was essentially on par with consumers’ reporting in surveys fielded during the previous 12 months. Meanwhile, 34% of adults say they are not ordering takeout or delivery from restaurants as often as they would like. That was also similar to readings in the last several surveys.
