Restaurants Saw Record-Low Sales, Traffic The Week Before Christmas

The week leading up to Christmas broke records in the restaurant industry this year, but not in a good way. For the week that ended Dec. 20, eating establishments posted the worst sales and foot traffic since mid-June, CNBC reported on Wednesday (Dec. 30).

Restaurant and bar sales were down 16.9 percent and foot traffic was down 20.9 percent year on year, CNBC said, citing Black Box Intelligence. The data was culled largely from chain restaurants.

Overall, full-service eateries had a tougher time than limited service — where people pay before they sit — and fast-food chains.

Adding to the foot traffic slowdown was the drop-off in diners 65 and older. That age group is staying home in bigger numbers and are mostly staying out of indoor dining establishments altogether.

Since the pandemic first gripped the U.S. in March, some 100,000 restaurants have closed either temporarily or permanently, according to the National Restaurant Association, per CNBC. In the past three months alone, 10,000 restaurants shuttered.

Earlier this month, before the stimulus package was approved by Capitol Hill, 37 percent of restaurants surveyed said they didn’t think they could hold on without more aid, the National Restaurant Association said, calling the new package a down payment on what the industry needs to survive.

The Independent Restaurant Coalition (IRC), which launched to help local eateries survive the pandemic’s economic impact, said the new package is insufficient to help 11 million independent restaurant workers.

The second wave of COVID-19 triggered new lockdowns and mandates, especially as the infection rate started soaring past the numbers posted in the early weeks of the virus. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, the majority of states instituted the strictest rules since the start of the pandemic.

PYMNTS data indicated that indoor dining dropped over 85 percent between early March and April. The PYMNTS/Visa How We Will Pay Survey showed that the number of people ordering groceries online for delivery tripled over the past 12 months.