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Restaurant sales and traffic had been riding high in recent months. That came to a halt in August as rising Covid numbers and media coverage of the Delta variant impacted sales and traffic numbers. Sales growth was just 6.1% in August, a drop of 2.1 percentage points compared to July’s strong sales growth, and traffic growth was -5.4% in August, according to the Black Box Intelligence Restaurant Guest Satisfaction Snapshot report. That was the softest sales growth reported since May and the worst traffic growth in the last three months.
Not all segments were affected equally by the August sales downturn. Full-service restaurants saw their sales growth rate drop by 3.8 percentage points compared to July. Less sales and traffic meant less pressure on execution, especially while operating under an environment plagued by staffing shortages.
It was a different story for limited-service brands. When Covid fears escalate, guests tend to shift some of their restaurant spending towards limited-service brands and away from full-service brands. Limited-service brands experienced an 0.8 percentage point improvement in their sales growth in August compared to July.
You can find the complete report at blackboxintelligence.com.