Restaurant Sales Are Rebounding
The industry hiring rates are up as well.
Feb 08, 2022 | 3 min read
NEWTON, Mass.—Restaurant gift card sales last year were sharply above 2020 sales, according to a new report by Paytronix, suggesting that sales have bounced back from a pandemic low.
Overall, people bought 22% more restaurant gift cards in 2021 than they did in 2020, but still 13% less than they purchased in 2019. Sales in the family-dining category shot up 106% when compared to 2020, while fine dining saw a 57% jump, indicating pent-up demand for a return to on-premises dining.
In addition to the increases in family and fine-dining sales, casual restaurants also proved popular, with a slightly smaller but respectable year-over-year increase of 28%. QSRs saw the smallest losses from 2019 to 2020 but grew by only 7% in 2021.
Digital card sales in 2021 were the highest they’ve been in all years included in Paytronix’s report. Sales were driven by the purchase of e-gift cards, particularly for fine-dining restaurants. On average, the load of stored value was higher on e-gift cards than physical cards for all service types, except for quick-service restaurants.
The average dollar amount loaded onto each card across all cards has remained consistent since 2019, even amid 2020’s total overall sales losses. However, fine-dining restaurants were the exception, seeing a 22% jump in average card load over 2019.
“We continue to watch a shift to e-gift and the role it plays in a complete guest experience. The rise of mobile apps, combined with loyalty programs that include such offerings as subscriptions and payments, along with rewards points, creates a much more frictionless guest experience,” said Andrew Robbins, founder and CEO of Paytronix Systems Inc. “When all the pieces come together, they bring guests back more often, help them purchase more, and increase their long-term customer lifetime value.”
Recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that restaurants and bars hired more people in January, despite reports saying the omicron variant hampered sales and traffic. The industry hired 108,200 new workers in total, compared with about 103,000 employees in December, according to Restaurant Business.
The omicron COVID-19 variant has not shaken consumer sentiment despite renewed safety concerns, as financial sentiment and discretionary spending remain steady, according to a recent Deloitte survey. This is unlike previous pandemic waves, says Deloitte. U.S. consumers expect to spend an average of $4,800 per household over the coming month, with one-third (35%) of their budgets slated for more discretionary categories, including restaurants.
Recruiting QSR
