For the first time in modern American history, the average household now spends more money eating out than cooking at home. In 2024, food away from home captured 58.9% of all U.S. food dollars, a record high, per USDA Economic Research Service data. That’s not a blip. It’s a structural shift that’s been building for a decade, and it has enormous implications for every restaurant operator trying to understand where customers are coming from, what they’ll pay, and whether they’ll be back next week.
This post compiles the most current restaurant consumer spending statistics available heading into 2026, from BLS household expenditure data to Black Box Intelligence traffic reports to Popmenu’s tipping research. Every number is dated and sourced. Where the data conflicts (and it often does), I flag it. Where a trend is clearer than the headlines suggest, I’ll say that too. For the autopilot approach that runs review replies, Google posts, photo cadence, ranking audits, and the Maps grid scan in one subscription, see AI marketing autopilot for restaurants.
The Macro Picture: How Much Americans Actually Spend at Restaurants
The U.S. restaurant industry is projected to hit $1.55 trillion in total sales in 2026, up 4.8% from 2025, according to the National Restaurant Association’s 2026 State of the Industry Report. Inflation-adjusted, that’s closer to 1.3% real growth. Respectable, but not exactly a boom.
Zoom out and the numbers get striking. Total food expenditures across the U.S. reached $2.58 trillion in 2024, per USDA ERS data. Of that, nearly $1.52 trillion, roughly 58.9%, was spent away from home. In 2019, that share was about 51%. So in five years, the balance tipped decisively. This is one of the most significant shifts in American consumer behavior in a generation, and most restaurant operators haven’t fully internalized what it means.
At the household level, the BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey puts the 2024 average at $3,945 per household spent on food away from home, up from $3,933 in 2023. Small increase, but remember: that’s the average, which gets dragged down by lower-income households that have sharply curtailed restaurant visits. The top income quintile spends dramatically more.
| Metric | Figure | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Projected total restaurant industry sales | $1.55 trillion | 2026 (NRA) |
| Total U.S. food spending (at-home + away) | $2.58 trillion | 2024 (USDA ERS) |
| Share of food dollars spent away from home | 58.9%, record high | 2024 (USDA ERS) |
| Average household spending on food away from home | $3,945/year | 2024 (BLS CES) |
| Inflation-adjusted industry sales growth | ~1.3% | 2026 projection (NRA) |
| Restaurants not profitable (operator-reported) | 42% | 2025 (NRA) |
Sources: National Restaurant Association 2026 State of the Industry; USDA Economic Research Service Food Expenditure Series; BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey 2024.
That last row deserves attention. Even as total sales hit a record, 42% of operators reported their restaurant wasn’t profitable in 2025. Revenue growth and profit growth are not the same thing, a lesson the industry has had to learn repeatedly as labor costs, food costs, and rent have all risen faster than menu prices can absorb. If you want to understand your own margins in context, the Restaurant Velocity profit margin benchmarks guide breaks this down by segment.
Average Check Size by Segment: What Guests Actually Pay
The headline number most cited, an average dine-in spend of $54 and takeout spend of $38, is a blended figure that masks wide variation by segment. Here’s what the actual data shows when you pull it apart.
Quick-service restaurants tell a more nuanced story. Toast’s platform data from Q2 2024 shows QSR guests paying an average of $11.26 for sandwiches, $12.98 for bowls, and $11.45 for burgers. Add a drink and a side and you’re at $16-$18 per person. That’s a number that would have seemed expensive for fast food five years ago. It’s now table stakes, and consumer pushback is real.
Fast-casual sits meaningfully higher. Chains like Chipotle, Panera, and Shake Shack are pricing 20-30% above traditional QSR, with typical per-person spend around $15-$22. Technology is a factor here: customers ordering through digital channels or kiosk systems spend an average of 20% more than counter-order guests, according to industry research. QSR check averages specifically have grown 26% as digital ordering has scaled.
| Segment | Avg. Check (per person) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Quick-Service (QSR) | $11 to $18 | Toast Q2 2024 platform data; entree + drink + side |
| Fast-Casual | $15 to $22 | 20 to 30% premium over QSR; digital orders run higher |
| Family Dining / Casual | $12 to $25 | Per-person; checks under $12 = family dining |
| Polished / Upscale Casual | $30 to $65 | Beverage program inflates check; dinner skews higher |
| Full-Service (blended dine-in avg) | $54 | National average; includes alcohol |
| Fine Dining | $75 to $150+ | Per person; beef price surge pushing avg up in 2025 |
| Takeout (all segments, blended) | $38 | National average 2025 |
Sources: Toast Restaurant Platform Data Q2 2024; industry segment benchmarks (Whipplewood, NRA, RestroWorks).
One data point worth flagging: in November 2025, average check sizes bumped 3.8% year-over-year, according to Black Box Intelligence, and critically, that increase was driven by larger basket sizes, not just price. Guests are ordering more. That’s a healthier signal than pure inflation-driven check growth, and it suggests operators with smart upsell and add-on strategies are finding traction even with cautious consumers.
Want this done for you? The Restaurant Velocity team builds data-driven growth strategies for restaurants, from local SEO and paid channels to loyalty programs and menu engineering. Book a free 30-minute growth strategy call and we’ll audit your numbers on the call.
Dining Frequency: How Often Americans Actually Eat Out
This is where the data gets messy, and interesting. Different sources report very different dining frequencies, partly because of how the question is asked and what counts (does drive-thru count? coffee shops?). Here’s the best synthesis of current data.
In 2024, the average American reported dining out about 5 times per month. That figure has fluctuated, a US Foods survey pegged frequency higher in some demographics, while YouGov’s October 2025 dining-out report found a more fragmented picture. The consistent through-line: 37% of American diners told Restaurant Business Online they were eating out less frequently than a year ago. That’s almost four in ten diners actively pulling back.
The “why” is almost entirely price. 82% of diners say restaurant prices have increased over the past year, per Escoffier’s 2025 consumer dining survey. And the Marketplace radio program reported in February 2025 that consumers are spending just as much at restaurants total, they’re just doing it on fewer occasions. In other words: same dollars, fewer visits, bigger per-visit spend. That’s a pattern with clear strategic implications for operators focused on average check versus traffic volume.
| Metric | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Average dining-out frequency (all adults) | ~5x/month | Multiple sources, 2024 |
| Diners eating out less than a year ago | 37% | Restaurant News Network / NRN, 2025 |
| Adults who say restaurant prices rose this year | 82% | Escoffier Consumer Dining Survey, 2025 |
| Adults who order takeout weekly | 47% | US Foods survey, 2024 |
| Adults ordering delivery in past month | 70% | Escoffier, 2025 |
| Weekly restaurant use, HH under $50K | ~58% (down from 63% in 2019) | NRA analysis, 2025 |
| Weekly restaurant use, HH with 6-figure income | ~80% | NRA analysis, 2025 |
Sources: NRN/Restaurant Business, Escoffier 2025 Consumer Dining Trends Report, US Foods American Dining Habits Survey 2024, NRA Economic Analysis.
The income split is the most telling number in that table. Lower-income households have reduced restaurant visits meaningfully since 2019, while affluent households have barely changed their behavior at all. That’s the K-shaped restaurant economy in one data point.
Generational Spending Patterns: Gen Z, Millennials, and Everyone Else
Generational spending data tends to attract breathless trend pieces (“Gen Z is killing the sit-down restaurant!”). The actual numbers are more nuanced, and more useful for operators.
Gen Z has officially surpassed Millennials as the most frequent restaurant users, according to NRN citing National Restaurant Association data. In Q4 2025, Gen Z QSR visits increased 34% year-over-year, even as overall restaurant frequency declined among older cohorts. That’s an extraordinary divergence.
Why? Gen Z treats restaurants, particularly QSR, fast casual, and coffee shops, as social infrastructure. Two-thirds of Gen Z adults say ordering takeout is “an essential part of their lifestyle,” per the NRA’s 2025 consumer report. They also order 4.5 beverages per week from foodservice establishments, compared to under 3.5 for the average consumer (Technomic data). The beverage habit is significant: beverages are typically 80%+ gross margin, and Gen Z is driving them.
Millennials remain strong restaurant spenders in absolute dollars. Average household restaurant and food-service spending for Millennials is substantial, roughly $22,298 annually across all retail and food service (Capital One Shopping Research, 2025). More specifically, 68% of Millennials said they planned to dine out more in 2025 than they did in 2024. Social media is a meaningful driver: 69% of Millennials have ordered a restaurant item after seeing it go viral, per DoorDash research.
Boomers and Gen X are the generation most aggressively pulling back. JP Morgan Research identified Gen X and Baby Boomers as showing “the steepest pullback in dining and food delivery spending” in 2025, concentrated among low- and middle-income households within those cohorts. Full-service restaurants, historically a Boomer stronghold, saw same-store traffic pressure throughout 2025 as this demographic recalibrated spending.
| Generation | Key Behavior | Standout Stat |
|---|---|---|
| Gen Z (born 1997 to 2012) | Most frequent restaurant users; beverage-heavy; delivery-preferred | QSR visits +34% YoY Q4 2025; 69% prefer food delivery over dine-in |
| Millennials (born 1981 to 1996) | Strong spenders; social-media-influenced; takeout essential | 74% ordered after seeing item go viral on social media |
| Gen X (born 1965 to 1980) | Pulling back; income-sensitive; value-focused | Steepest spending decline among mid-income HH (JP Morgan, 2025) |
| Boomers (born 1946 to 1964) | Traditional dine-in; cutting occasions; lower delivery adoption | Full-service traffic declines sharpest in Boomer-heavy markets |
Sources: NRN/NRA 2025 data; JP Morgan Research 2025; DoorDash Consumer Survey; Technomic; Black Box Intelligence.
The practical implication: if your restaurant skews toward Boomer and Gen X customers with middle incomes, you’re swimming against a demographic current right now. The strategies that work for that customer, value meals, consistent experience, loyalty rewards tied to tangible discounts, are different from what captures Gen Z attention. The 2026 food trends breakdown on Restaurant Velocity covers how menu decisions intersect with these generational preferences.
Tipping Trends: Fatigue Is Real, and the Numbers Prove It
Tipping is having a cultural crisis. That’s not hyperbole, it’s what the data shows, and the restaurants navigating it best are the ones treating it as a customer experience issue rather than a revenue protection problem.
The national average restaurant tip fell below 15% of the total bill in Q2 2025, landing at 14.9%, down from 15.5% in 2023, according to Gratuity Solutions data. That’s a meaningful decline in less than two years. More telling: 35% of consumers told Popmenu in a fall 2025 survey that they had reduced how frequently or how much they tip at restaurants. The percentage of takeout orders on which consumers tipped dropped to 62% in 2026, from 78% in 2022.
The psychological root of tip fatigue is tipping prompt proliferation. Consumers report being prompted to tip an average of ten times per month, coffee shops, counter-service spots, takeout orders, delivery apps. Each prompt creates a small friction. Over months and years, that friction compounds into resentment. 65% of consumers say they feel weary of frequent tipping requests, and 66% say they feel pressured by digital payment screens.
Geographic variation is wide. Delaware averages 22.6% tip rates; California trails at 17.8%, according to 2025 state-level tipping data. Part of that reflects tip credit laws, states with no tip credit (where servers earn full minimum wage before tips) don’t require the same gratuity to make up base pay, but consumer attitudes also differ by region.
What doesn’t show up in the averages: tipping behavior is shifting by channel. QSR tip averages held steady at 15.8% through Q3 2025, per Toast platform data, suggesting that when consumers choose to tip at counter-service, they’re still giving a decent percentage. The decline is more about whether to tip at all, not how much when they do.
| Metric | Figure | Year / Source |
|---|---|---|
| National average tip percentage (restaurants) | 14.9% | Q2 2025 (Gratuity Solutions) |
| National average tip percentage (prior benchmark) | 15.5% | 2023 |
| Consumers who’ve reduced tipping frequency/amount | 35% | 2025 (Popmenu) |
| Takeout orders with a tip | 62% (down from 78%) | 2026 vs. 2022 |
| Consumers feeling weary of tip requests | 65% | 2025 (Popmenu/multiple) |
| QSR tip average on Toast platform | 15.8% | Q3 2025 (Toast) |
| Tips given in cash (down from 30% in 2020) | 15% | 2025 |
Sources: Gratuity Solutions 2025; Popmenu Consumer Survey 2025; Toast Restaurant Platform Q3 2025; Fox Business/state tipping survey 2025.
Loyalty Programs: The Data on What They’re Actually Worth
Loyalty program ROI used to be hard to measure. It isn’t anymore. The data is consistent, and it’s compelling enough that operators without a loyalty program are leaving demonstrable revenue on the table.
Loyalty members visit restaurants 20% more frequently and spend 20% more per visit than non-members, according to industry research aggregated by BusinessDasher. The annual compound effect is significant: customers enrolled in loyalty programs spend an average of 32% more annually at the same restaurant versus non-enrolled customers. And 12-18% more incremental revenue growth annually for restaurants with strong loyalty programs versus those without.
Adoption is near-universal among chains. 82% of restaurant brands have some form of loyalty program in place, with 71% of QSRs and 68% of full-service restaurants offering one. But having a program and having an effective program are different things. Paytronix’s 2026 loyalty report found that points-only programs are “largely obsolete”, AI-enabled programs that personalize offers can deliver 20-50% increases in guest lifetime value.
Consumer appetite is there. 57% of diners say they’d spend more at a restaurant if it offered a loyalty program, and 81% say they’d join one if offered. That last number is extraordinary, it means most of a restaurant’s customer base would willingly enter a data-sharing relationship in exchange for rewards. Operators not capturing that data are choosing ignorance about their own customers.
The behavioral driver: 64% of loyalty program members admit to spending more to maximize point earnings. And 65% change their order, adding items or visiting at specific times, to hit reward thresholds. Loyalty isn’t just about retention. It’s an active mechanism that reshapes purchase behavior. Pair it with an email list and you’ve got a direct marketing channel that costs a fraction of paid advertising. The Restaurant Velocity email list building guide walks through how to build that owned channel from a loyalty foundation.
Want this done for you? The Restaurant Velocity team builds data-driven growth strategies for restaurants, from local SEO and paid channels to loyalty programs and menu engineering. Book a free 30-minute growth strategy call and we’ll audit your numbers on the call.
Price Sensitivity and Value Perception in 2026
Value is the word of 2026 in the restaurant industry. But it’s worth being precise about what consumers actually mean when they say value, because it’s not the same as cheap.
McKinsey’s ConsumerWise survey of roughly 900 U.S. consumers, fielded in August 2025, found that 75% of adults rank value as a top priority when choosing a limited-service restaurant, and 70% say the same for full-service. But value in this context encompasses quality, convenience, speed, and experience, not just price. A $25 casual dining meal can feel like poor value; a $16 fast-casual bowl can feel like excellent value. The ratio of perceived quality to price is what matters.
The bifurcation playing out in the market reflects this. Consumer Edge’s 2026 Restaurant Outlook, analyzing data across 600+ restaurant brands, found the market polarizing: consumers are either trading down for savings or trading up for experience. The middle ground (mediocre food at elevated prices, with indifferent service) is where brands are losing share fastest.
Income shapes price sensitivity dramatically. 34% of consumers overall reported increasing their restaurant spending in early 2026 (up from 22% the previous year). But that increase is concentrated in households earning $100,000+. Households earning under $50,000 have pulled back visits and are substituting more meals at home. By some estimates, households earning above $100,000 now account for nearly 60 cents of every restaurant dollar spent, despite representing about 43% of households.
The category splits are telling too. Per McKinsey’s analysis, only 18% of consumers say they’d cut spending on salads, versus 51% who’d cut burgers and American food first. Diners mentally categorize health-adjacent menu items as non-negotiable investments, while comfort food feels more optional. That’s a pricing and positioning insight with real menu engineering implications.
Menu Price Inflation: How Much Has Gone Up, and How Much More Consumers Will Tolerate
Restaurant prices rose 3.9% year-over-year as of early 2026, according to the USDA’s food price tracking. Full-service restaurants fared worst at 4.6% average menu price increases, the segment most exposed to labor cost pressure in states with aggressive minimum wage increases.
That 3.9% sounds manageable. But it’s on top of years of cumulative inflation. Food away from home is up roughly 6% from January 2024 to late 2025, per BLS CPI data, while food at home rose only about 3% over the same period. The perception gap is meaningful: consumers feel like eating out has gotten much more expensive relative to cooking at home, and they’re not wrong.
95% of restaurant operators say consumers are more value-conscious than they used to be, per the NRA’s 2025 survey. Industry analysts described menu pricing as already at “guest tolerance thresholds” heading into 2026. That language, threshold, matters. It doesn’t mean consumers stop eating out. It means the next round of price increases faces significantly more resistance than the last one did.
The brands winning despite high prices have one thing in common: they’ve given consumers a story to tell themselves about why the price is worth it. Texas Roadhouse, which continued taking market share through 2025, hasn’t hidden from higher menu prices, it’s doubled down on the perception of portion size and value. Chili’s reinvented itself with a “3 for Me” value play and saw a remarkable reversal in traffic trends as a result. Raising Cane’s nearly doubled its market share to 11% by offering consistent quality at a price point that felt honest.
| Metric | Figure | Source / Period |
|---|---|---|
| Food away from home price increase (YoY) | 3.9% | USDA ERS / early 2026 |
| Full-service restaurant menu price increase | 4.6% | BLS data, 2025 |
| Grocery price increase (same period) | 2.7% | BLS CPI, 2025 |
| Operators saying consumers are more value-conscious | 95% | NRA 2025 Survey |
| Consumers cutting dining spend in Q3 2024 | 55% | Multiple consumer surveys |
| Consumers very/somewhat concerned about rising prices | 80% | Multiple surveys, 2025 |
| Consumers increasing restaurant spend in early 2026 | 34% (up from 22% prior year) | McKinsey ConsumerWise, 2025 |
Sources: USDA ERS Food Price Outlook; BLS Consumer Price Index; NRA 2025 State of Industry; McKinsey ConsumerWise Survey August 2025.
One forward-looking note: tariff impacts on food costs could put additional upward pressure on menu prices in 2026. Several major restaurant chains flagged tariff exposure in their late-2025 earnings calls. If food-at-home prices spike due to import tariffs, the relative value equation for restaurants may actually improve, but if supply chain disruption hits restaurant ingredient costs first, operators face yet another round of the pricing tolerance test.
Dine-In vs. Takeout vs. Delivery: Who’s Winning the Format War
The format war has been declared settled prematurely several times since 2020. Here’s what the current data actually shows.
Off-premises dining now accounts for nearly 75% of all restaurant traffic, per NRA data. That’s not a pandemic residue, it’s a new baseline. Three out of four restaurant orders are being consumed somewhere other than the dining room. Takeout is the most common method, followed by drive-thru, then delivery.
But the dine-in comeback is real. 55% of consumers told the National Restaurant Association they preferred dining out over takeout or delivery in 2024, up from 43% who said the same in 2023. That’s a 12-point swing in dine-in preference in one year. People do still want to sit in a restaurant. They want the experience, the service, the reason to leave the house. They’re just also ordering takeout five times for every dine-in occasion.
Generation drives format choice sharply. 69% of Gen Z prefer food delivery over dine-in; Millennials dine in only 42% of the time. Boomers still skew toward full-service dine-in. This means a restaurant that serves multiple generations is actually managing multiple service models simultaneously, a fact most operators underappreciate when thinking about staffing and experience design.
The delivery economics remain complicated. 70% of consumers say they prefer ordering directly from a restaurant’s app or website rather than a third-party platform, per Paytronix research. Direct ordering preserves margins that third-party platforms (which typically charge 15-30% commission) would otherwise capture. Getting customers onto direct channels is one of the highest-ROI plays available to independent operators right now. Reviews help drive that shift, if guests trust the restaurant directly, they’re more likely to order direct. See the guide on generating restaurant reviews for how to build that trust signal systematically.
| Metric | Figure | Source / Year |
|---|---|---|
| Share of all restaurant traffic that is off-premises | ~75% | NRA 2025 |
| Consumers preferring dine-in over takeout/delivery | 55% (up from 43% in 2023) | NRA Consumer Survey 2024 |
| U.S. diners who ordered delivery in past month | 70% | Escoffier, 2025 |
| Adults ordering takeout weekly | 47% | US Foods Survey 2024 |
| Gen Z preferring delivery over dine-in | 69% | Multiple, 2025 |
| Millennials who dine in (as % of occasions) | 42% | Industry research, 2025 |
| Consumers preferring direct ordering vs. 3rd-party app | 70% | Paytronix, 2026 |
| Takeout avg. order motivator: multitasking at home | 81% cite this reason | Consumer surveys, 2024 |
Sources: NRA Off-Premises Press Release 2025; Escoffier Consumer Dining Trends 2025; US Foods Dining Habits Survey; Paytronix 2026 Consumer Trends Report.
Online food delivery revenue is projected to grow at a 7.83% annual rate from 2025 to 2029, per Paytronix analysis. That’s substantial. The restaurants that figure out how to capture delivery volume while keeping the economics healthy, through direct channels, thoughtful delivery menus, and smart packaging, will have a meaningful advantage over those still treating delivery as an afterthought. Instagram is increasingly the discovery channel for delivery orders among younger consumers; the Restaurant Velocity Instagram marketing guide covers how to convert that discovery into orders.
The Income Divide: Where Restaurant Spending Actually Comes From
No analysis of restaurant consumer spending is complete without confronting this: the industry runs on upper-income households in ways that most operators probably don’t fully appreciate.
Households earning $200,000+ are responsible for 24% of all food-away-from-home spending. Households earning $100,000-$199,999 account for another 35%. Combined, households with incomes above $100,000 account for nearly 60 cents of every dollar spent in restaurants, per NRA economic analysis, despite representing only about 43% of all households.
And that concentration has increased. There were 57.7 million households with annual income of $100,000 or more in 2024, an increase of 5 million households from 2022 on an inflation-adjusted basis. That growing affluent consumer base has been the backstop for restaurant industry sales even as lower-income dining frequency declined.
The K-shaped nature of this market has clear implications for positioning. Brands that explicitly or implicitly cater to higher-income households, through quality signals, experience, brand prestige, or occasion-based positioning, are fishing in waters that are getting fuller. Brands that rely heavily on value-oriented, lower-income traffic are facing a structural headwind that menu price increases will only worsen. This isn’t a new observation, but the 2025 data makes it starker than it’s ever been.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the average American household’s annual restaurant spending?
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 2024 Consumer Expenditure Survey, the average U.S. household spent $3,945 on food away from home in 2024, up slightly from $3,933 in 2023. This is a national average; households earning over $100,000 spend significantly more, while lower-income households have pulled back spending relative to prior years.
How often do Americans eat out per month on average?
The average American eats out roughly 5 times per month, based on 2024 survey data, though this varies widely by income and generation. Gen Z and Millennials eat out more frequently; Boomers and lower-income households have reduced frequency since 2023. About 37% of diners reported eating out less than they did a year ago, per National Restaurant News 2025 data.
What is the average restaurant check size in the U.S.?
The blended national average is approximately $54 for dine-in and $38 for takeout. By segment: QSR runs $11-$18 per person, fast-casual $15-$22, upscale casual $30-$65, and fine dining typically $75 and up. Digital ordering increases check sizes by an average of 20% across segments, per industry research.
Are Americans spending more or less at restaurants in 2026?
Total spending continues to grow, the industry is projected to hit $1.55 trillion in 2026 (NRA). But real, inflation-adjusted growth is only about 1.3%. Traffic (visit frequency) has declined for many segments, while average check sizes have risen. 34% of consumers reported increasing restaurant spend in early 2026, up from 22% the prior year, with growth concentrated among higher-income households.
How does Gen Z restaurant spending compare to other generations?
Gen Z has surpassed Millennials as the most frequent restaurant users. QSR visits by Gen Z increased 34% year-over-year in Q4 2025. They order 4.5 beverages per week from foodservice versus under 3.5 for the average consumer, 69% prefer delivery over dine-in, and 74% have ordered an item after seeing it go viral on social media (DoorDash data). They treat restaurants as social infrastructure, not occasional indulgence.
What percentage of Americans tip at restaurants, and how much?
The national average restaurant tip fell to 14.9% in Q2 2025, down from 15.5% in 2023. Tipping on takeout orders dropped to 62% of orders in 2026, from 78% in 2022. 35% of consumers say they’ve reduced their tipping frequency or amount. Tip fatigue is real: 65% of diners feel weary of frequent tip prompts, and consumers are being asked to tip an average of ten times per month.
Do restaurant loyalty programs actually increase spending?
Yes, substantially. Loyalty members visit 20% more frequently and spend 20% more per visit, and 32% more annually than non-members. 64% of members admit spending more to maximize reward earnings. 57% of diners say they’d increase spending at a restaurant if it offered a loyalty program. AI-enabled loyalty programs can deliver 20-50% increases in guest lifetime value, per Paytronix 2026 research.
Has food away from home become more expensive than groceries?
It’s been more expensive per meal for decades, but the gap has widened. Restaurant prices rose 3.9% year-over-year in early 2026 versus 2.7% for groceries. Food away from home is up roughly 6% cumulatively from January 2024 to late 2025, while grocery prices rose about 3% over the same period. Despite higher prices, 58.9% of all food dollars now go to food away from home, a record high as of 2024 USDA data.
Do most Americans prefer dine-in, takeout, or delivery?
By occasion count, off-premises (takeout + delivery + drive-thru) dominates at about 75% of all restaurant traffic. By stated preference, 55% of consumers say they prefer dining in a restaurant over ordering out, up from 43% in 2023. So the dine-in preference is rising even while dine-in volume share remains modest. 70% of consumers prefer ordering directly from a restaurant’s own app or website over third-party delivery platforms.
Which income group drives the most restaurant spending?
Households earning over $100,000 are responsible for nearly 60% of all food-away-from-home dollars spent, despite representing about 43% of households. The top segment, households earning $200,000+, alone accounts for 24% of all restaurant spending. This concentration has intensified as lower-income households cut dining frequency, making the affluent consumer segment increasingly critical to industry health in 2025-2026.
