U.S. Restaurant Operators Reported Lower Same-store Sales and Customer Traffic in September

Restaurant operators reported a net decline in same-store sales in September, though the readings improved somewhat from recent months. 

Forty-two percent of restaurant operators said their same-store sales rose between September 2023 and September 2024, according to the National Restaurant Association’s monthly tracking survey. That was up from 40% in August and marked the highest level in four months. 

Forty-seven percent of operators said their sales declined in September, down from 51% in August. September represented the 9th consecutive month in which restaurant operators reported a net decline in same-store sales.

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 dampened customer traffic in September. Thirty percent of operators said their customer traffic rose between September 2023 and September 2024, while 50% reported a traffic decline. 

That represented the 18th consecutive month of net declines in customer traffic. 

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