Industry Statistics

  • One of restaurants’ toughest tests? Attracting Gen Z diners

    July 7, 2022
    Capturing diners across all demographics has always been part of the challenge for restaurants. Attracting Gen Z is a unique test, particularly in the current economic and social climate. Gen Z have less disposable money and more competition for how to spend that money than perhaps any other generation in recent history. Throw in the factor ...
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  • More Canadian SMBs struggling to pay rent

    June 30, 2022
    A new report has found that 43 per cent of all small business owners in Canada reported they could not afford to pay their rent in June. Alignable’s June Rent Report notes that figure was up four per cent from May amid record rising inflation. More than half (55 per cent) of Canadian small business owners say they’re ...
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  • Health, environmental consciousness driving plant-based demand

    June 28, 2022
    Consumers’ physical health goals and concerns about the environment continue to be the leading factors in driving demand for plant-based food. That’s according to the new “2022 Plant-Forward Opportunity” report from Datassential in collaboration with The Culinary Institute of America, Food for Climate League, and the Menus of Change University Research Collaborative. The research found that more than one in five (21 ...
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  • No tip, no trip: ensuring delivery drivers are treated equally can preserve revenue

    June 23, 2022
    A new report has warned of the importance of making sure that a restaurant’s delivery drivers are treated equally and making even tips. Paytronix’s “No trip, no trip” report notes that drivers not getting their fair share of tips could become a blow to a restaurant’s bottom line through unclaimed orders. While delivery drivers have been ...
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  • Canadian inflation rate hits highest point since 1983

    June 22, 2022
    There is still no let-up when it comes to higher prices in restaurants, retail, and every corner of life, as the Canadian inflation rate has hit 7.7 per cent — its highest point since 1983. Canada’s inflation rate rose at its fastest pace in almost four decades years in the year up to May, found Statistics ...
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  • Many diners keen on metaverse, but restaurants must mitigate

    June 21, 2022
    The rapid evolution of technology has long been redefining restaurant consumers’ concept of “normal”. Think of the move from laminated print menus as a standard to QR codes or ordering kiosks. Now, the next step may well be the metaverse. A new Paytronix and PYMNTS Report, The Digital Divide: Technology, The Metaverse, and the Future of ...
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  • Complaints about short-staffed restaurants surging in 2022

    June 17, 2022
    New data from Yelp has shown that diners are returning to restaurants in droves, flocking to dining rooms in 2022 as the memory of heightened pandemic fears and restrictions fades. That has brought its own problems, though, as complaints about short-staffed restaurants have soared. The new state of the industry report found that customers have been ...
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  • Breakfast pizza trending highly as daypart rebounds

    June 15, 2022
    Breakfast took a big hit during the last two years of the pandemic, but it appears the daypart is rebounding slowly but surely. With so many people moving out of the office on a temporary or permanent basis, consumer traffic at breakfast fell drastically after the onset of the pandemic, with people increasingly sourcing breakfast at ...
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  • Fast-casual diners may go elsewhere if no drive-thru is offered

    June 10, 2022
    New data from Technomic suggests that fast-casual diners are beginning to expect drive-thrus at restaurant locations, similar to the standard that has been established with quick-service restaurants. Some even say they would dine elsewhere if there wasn’t a drive-thru option. The “Future of LSR: Fast food and fast-casual” survey found that nearly half (45 per cent) ...
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  • Restaurant sales have exceeded pre-pandemic levels for the first time

    June 3, 2022
    Restaurant sales in Canada surpassed their pre-COVID-19 levels for the first time since the pandemic began in March, according to Statistics Canada. New data shows that Canadian bar and restaurant sales increased by 6.5 per cent monthly in March to $6.8 billion, reports the Canadian Press. Year-over-year, sales were up 35 per cent compared with March ...
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  • Guess who’s coming to dinner? (Plus breakfast and lunch)

    May 29, 2022
    By Asad Amin No, this title is not the opening to a classic Sidney Poitier remake, although one does exist. It regards the new diner who visits restaurants after a two-year hiatus. It’s not that nobody ordered from foodservice through the pandemic, but considering our lives are very different now than in 2019, there are significant behavioural ...
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  • There still simply aren’t enough restaurant workers

    May 28, 2022
    Foodservice operators have been doing all they can to attract more restaurant workers but, amid soaring inflation and food costs, measures like hiking wages, introducing benefits, increasing flexibility, and trimming menus just aren’t getting the job done. Canada’s restaurant industry was devastated by two years of shutdowns, repeated layoffs, and strict capacity limits, and about 13,000 ...
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  • DoorDash releases 2022 online ordering trends report

    May 26, 2022
    The restaurant industry has dramatically changed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and online ordering trends such as delivery and takeout continue to see massive growth worldwide. In Canada, off-premises consumption has experienced 27 per cent year-over-year growth in same-store orders, according to DoorDash. The delivery company and Restaurants Canada have partnered up to release the ...
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  • How is restaurant chains’ recovery manifesting?

    May 24, 2022
    You’ll have heard this before by now, but the pandemic has changed the restaurant industry forever. Datassential’s fourth annual Firefly 500+ restaurant report highlights many of these core shifts, such as restaurant chains focusing on key markets and unit growth rather than simply sales. The food industry market research and insights company’s Samantha Des Jardins recently ...
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  • What do Canadian diners want from technology in restaurants?

    May 19, 2022
    When it comes to the foodservice industry, consumer trends have rapidly and significantly evolved over the course of the pandemic. One development that has proven it is here to stay, however, is the integration and use of technology in restaurants. Technology has been there to ease restaurants’ concerns, from labour shortages to changing dining operations to supply ...
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