Restaurant Sector Eager to Say Goodbye to Rough Year

The restaurant industry is reportedly eager to move beyond a difficult 2024.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I’m ready for ’24 to be behind us, and I think ’25 is going to be a great year,” Kate Jaspon, chief financial officer of Dunkin’ parent Inspire Brands, said at the Restaurant Finance and Development Conference in Las Vegas this week, per a Sunday (Nov. 17) CNBC report.

As that report noted, bankruptcies in the restaurant sector have jumped 50% this year compared to 2023. And restaurant traffic in eateries open at least a year fell year over year in each month through September, according to data from industry tracker Black Box Intelligence.

Meanwhile, major chains such as McDonald’s and Starbucks have reported declines in sales, leaving investors disappointed.

On the bright side, sales have ticked back up, with traffic to fast-food restaurants increasing 2.8% in October versus a year ago, the report said, citing data from Revenue Management Solutions. At the same time, interest rates are falling, allowing restaurants to more easily get funding to open new locations.

Katie Fogerty, CFO of Shake Shack, told CNBC she expects a “big boost” in consumer confidence as interest rates come down. Her company has seen increasing same-store sales each quarter so far this year, in spite of increasing caution among consumers.

In other restaurant news, PYMNTS wrote last week about the rising use of pay-at-the-table technology at eateries.

“The demand for a better customer experience and increased customer security, [along with staff shortages], are the main drivers that are fueling pay at the table,” Terry Roberts, executive relationship manager at Discover® Global Network, told PYMNTS.

The report noted consumers are seeking faster payment options. As Roberts said, pay-at-the-table can range from handheld point-of-sale (POS) devices carried by servers to standalone kiosks mounted at each table. These devices allow consumers to order and pay from the same screen. The range of payment methods used can also change depending on the locale — QR codes are popular in Asia, while digital wallets are found more often in North America and Europe.

“In addition, the development and increased usage of global SoftPOS systems that allow merchants to take payments on their mobile phone [or tablet, help to] make it convenient for a merchant to take payment at the table even if they don’t have an integrated POS,” Roberts said.