BentoBox's annual report also includes
findings on restaurant employment, benefits, reservations and gift
cards among others.
NEW
YORK, Dec. 5, 2023 /PRNewswire/
-- BentoBox, the Official Restaurant Technology Partner of the
James Beard Foundation (JBF), today announced its 2023 Restaurant
Trend Report, a data-forward look at the seven trends that defined
the industry this year.
With the problems that defined the previous year evening out,
including high inflation and labor shortages, the Restaurant Trend
Report breaks down how the industry has bounced back and what we
can expect in 2024.
Here are the year's leading trends:
1. Restaurant spending and openings grew:
Diners spent more on restaurants this year, and many restaurants
opened to meet the increased demand.
-
- Diners spent about 7% more on restaurants this year, with an
average check total of $22.46.
- 10,608 restaurants opened across the US, about 6% more than in
2022.
- Florida led with the most
restaurant openings, with 1,256 across the state–almost 9% more
than in 2022. California had the
largest YOY growth, with 930 openings–almost 15% more than last
year.
2. Employment finally surpassed pre-pandemic
numbers: September 2023 marked
the first time in 3 1/2 years that U.S. bars & restaurants
returned to and surpassed pre-pandemic levels of employment.
-
- In September this year, there were 12.37 million active
restaurant jobs, surpassing 12.34 million in February 2020.
3. Restaurants are prioritizing benefits:
Job listings on restaurant websites reflected the restaurant
industry's awareness of the demands made by their workforce.
-
- Growth of specific terms in job listings on restaurant
websites:
- 386% increase in "PTO"
- 175% increase in "paid vacation"
- 100% increase in "health care"
- 53% increase in "mental health"
- Looking ahead to 2024, more restaurants will start to advertise
as great places to work.
4. Diners prefer walk-ins to
reservations: Diners were more spontaneous and made more plans
to meet up and walk into restaurants.
-
- Walk-in parties accounted for almost three-quarters of
restaurant tables and were twice as common as reservations.
- Nearly three-quarters (71%) of all reservations were made on
mobile.
- 18 hours was the average lead time for reservations.
5. Gift cards are more popular and more
personal than ever: The average value of gift cards is
$132.25, up 4% from 2022. 53% of
people are now redeeming the cards, up 13% from 2022.
-
- 2 out of 3 gift cards were bought to commemorate a special
occasion and 87% featured a written note.
- 83% of gift card notes were personal in nature. Nearly half
featured the word "love" and 29% of them featured the word
"Christmas." Heartfelt notes were six times as common as
lighthearted notes.
Visit https://www.getbento.com/trend-report/2023/ to access the
full report and read about emerging trends to watch for in 2024
including A.I., automation, brand collaborations and more. For
additional information on BentoBox's 2023 Restaurant Trend Report,
please contact press@getbento.com.
About BentoBox
BentoBox, the Official Restaurant Technology Partner of the
James Beard Foundation, empowers thousands of restaurants to
deliver on their mission of hospitality. With the BentoBox
Marketing & Commerce Platform, restaurants are able to unify
their technology into an all-in-one commerce engine that delivers a
seamless guest experience, a better operator experience and
sustainable growth. The platform enables restaurants to build their
online presence, diversify revenue, engage with diners and increase
operational efficiency through websites, ordering, reservations,
marketing tools and more. BentoBox is part of Fiserv, Inc. (NYSE:
FI).
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content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bentoboxs-2023-restaurant-trend-report-reveals-increase-in-restaurant-spending-across-the-us-with-over-10-000-restaurants-opening-to-meet-demand-302005661.html
SOURCE BentoBox