Same-store sales and customer traffic

Same-store sales and customer traffic

Restaurant operators reported dampened same-store sales and customer traffic in July

A solid majority of restaurant operators reported a decline in same-store sales in July. 

Only 20% of restaurant operators said their same-store sales rose between July 2023 and July 2024, according to the National Restaurant Association’s monthly tracking survey. That was down sharply from 35% of operators who reported higher sales in June. 

Sixty-three percent of operators said their sales declined in July, up from 56% in June and the highest proportion since January 2024. That marked the continuation of a soft patch in sales, with July representing the 7th consecutive month of net-negative sales readings.

Restaurant operators: Want to know how your business compares to similar restaurants on a monthly basis? Find out by taking a few minutes to participate in the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Industry Tracking Survey. All survey respondents receive exclusive access to the detailed survey results each month, broken out by industry segment and type of ownership.

Restaurant operators also continued to report negative customer traffic in July. Thirteen percent of operators said their customer traffic rose between July 2023 and July 2024, while 71% reported a traffic decline. 

That represented the 16th consecutive month of net declines in customer traffic. 

Track more economic indicators and read more analysis and commentary from the Association's economists.