Consumers Flock Back To Restaurants Driving August Sales Jump

Core Insights - U.S. restaurant spending increased by 3.7% year-over-year in August, up from 2.5% in July, indicating a recovery in the sector as consumers returned to both chain and independent restaurants [1] Group 1: Restaurant Performance - Chain restaurants reduced their decline to 0.9% from a 2.9% drop in July, while independent eateries saw growth rise to 5.3% from 4.3% [2] - Quick-service restaurants, excluding pizza, experienced a decline of 1.3%, though this was an improvement from July's 2.9% contraction [3] - Pizza restaurants improved their performance, with spending down 2.8% compared to a 4.8% decline in the previous month [4] - Fast-casual dining establishments nearly returned to growth, with declines slowing to 0.6% from 2.6% [4] - Casual dining chains rebounded with a 2.4% increase after a 1.1% contraction [5] - Specialty coffee chains surged by 16.7%, following a 14.3% gain in July [5] Group 2: Consumer Behavior and Spending Trends - Brick-and-mortar spending increased by 2.5% year-over-year, up from 1.0% in July, indicating rising foot traffic [6] - Online orders showed slight deceleration, growing at 8.6% compared to 8.7% in July, but remain significantly ahead of in-person sales [6] Group 3: Income and Regional Analysis - Households earning $50,000–$125,000 led spending growth at 7.4%, followed by high-income consumers over $125,000 at 5.8%, and lower-income households under $50,000 at 4.2% [7] - Online spending was particularly strong among middle- and lower-income groups, growing over 11% compared to 8.5% for higher earners [7] - Cleveland experienced the highest growth at 8.3%, while Denver lagged at 2.9%, highlighting the impact of local economic conditions [8]