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Survey: Consumers spending 40% of food budget on restaurants

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July 18, 2022

Consumers are still dining out despite rising costs and inflation, spending 40% of individual or family food budgets on restaurants each month. That's the finding from a Popmenu survey of 1,002 consumers in May 2022, according to a press release.

When ordering online, one-third (33%) of consumers spend $50 or more per order on average. More consumers are transitioning from delivery or carryout only back to on-premise dining. Approximately 45% of consumers eat in restaurant dining rooms at least twice a week.

As budgets tighten, consumers said they are more likely to pull back on other purchases such as new clothes, travel and gym memberships before reducing their restaurant spending:

• New clothes – 44% of consumers.
• Travel – 42%.
• Gym membership – 33%.
• Ride services (Uber, Lyft, taxis, etc.) – 33%.
• Streaming subscriptions (Netflix, Peacock, Hulu, Prime Video, etc) – 30%.
• Other entertainment (movies, sports events, concerts) – 29%.
• Personal grooming (hair/nail salon) – 27%.

Popmenu also found that 29% of consumers believe its cheaper to order restaurants than buy all the items needed to cook a meal; 27% said it costs roughly the same without all the work.

"Restaurants play an important role in everyday life, from making meals to making memories," Brendan Sweeney, CEO and co-founder of Popmenu, said in the press release. "While consumers are keeping a closer eye on economic trends and their overall spending, restaurant dining continues to account for a significant portion of their food budgets each month. Where they ultimately choose to spend their dollars is, in part, influenced by how much the restaurant is keeping consumers engaged through digital outreach and how frictionless the overall experience is both online and on-premise. Quality, convenience and value are top of mind."