Consumer Dining Patterns in All 50 States Toby Scammell - Womply
Womply recently unveiled the State of Local Restaurants report, which charts consumer spending patterns at small, independent restaurants in all 50 states.
The report reveals a wide range of patterns in consumer spending at local restaurants, including how sales trend during the days of the week, months of the year, and major holidays.
The report includes a national view and localized findings for each state, powered by analysis of tens of thousands of restaurants in every corner of America across every day of the calendar year.
“One of most difficult aspects of running a local restaurant is not knowing where you stand,� says Womply founder Toby Scammell.
“By launching the State of Local Restaurants report, we’re giving unprecedented visibility to restaurateurs so they can understand how their sales patterns and seasonality compare to national and regional baselines.�
Nationally, local restaurants see 48 transactions at $35 per ticket for average daily revenue of just over $1,700.
Based on average monthly revenue, the top 10 states last year were: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Washington D.C. $115,000 monthly Hawaii, $80,000 Florida, $71,000 California, $71,000 Illinois, $68,000 Utah, $65,000 New York, $64,000 South Carolina, $63,000 Nevada, $63,000 Maryland, $63,000
The report uncovered highly consistent sales patterns for local restaurants, with very little seasonality.
In general, revenue as a percentage of annual sales doesn’t change much from month to month, and the average weekend is bigger than most prominent holidays.
While no particular day accounts for more than a half-percent of annual sales, the report highlighted some surprising findings about top revenue days.
Mother’s Day weekend rules all, with 44 percent of all restaurants reporting Mother’s Day as their top day of the year. The Saturday before Mother’s Day was the No. 2 of the year, as well.
Cinco de Mayo and St. Patrick’s Day rank No. 36 and No. 48, respectively, and are the top sales days among all prominent holidays behind Mother’s Day.
Valentine’s Day, while typically associated with dining out, is not in the top 100 days, ranking No. 107 nationally for restaurant sales.
“The more we study sales patterns on Main Street, the more we learn that consumer spending tends to defy conventional wisdom,� Scammell says.
“This kind of analysis illustrates how dangerous it is to rely on assumptions when running a thin-margin business. Our goal with the State of Local Restaurants report, as well with all our data analysis efforts, is to better inform the small business owners who keep our local and national economies humming.�
Womply’s State of Local Restaurants report is now available on Womply.com.