In its 2022 State of the Restaurant Industry report on Feb. 1, the National Restaurant Association provided stats that measure the restaurant industry’s “continued recovery and examines the status of current and emerging trends across key categories including technology and off-premises business, operations, workforce, food and menus, and more,” according to a story posted at https://restaurant.org/research-and-media/media/press-releases/association-releases-2022-state-of-the-restaurant-industry-report/
The new year, the release said, “is one of transition as a path to recovery continues.” It added that “labor challenges [remain] a top concern for operators.”
However, “More than half of restaurant operators said it would be a year or more before business conditions return to normal. Food, labor, and occupancy costs are expected to remain elevated, and continue to impact restaurant profit margins in 2022.” And “Ninety-six percent of operators experienced supply delays or shortages of key food or beverage items in 2021 – and these challenges will likely continue in 2022.”
The report noted, “Fifty-one percent of adults say they aren’t eating at restaurants as often as they would like, which is an increase of six percentage points from before the pandemic.”
Marvin Irby, Interim “The restaurant and foodservice industry has adapted and is carrying on with absolute resilience, so we’re optimistic about the path toward recovery in the coming year,” said Marvin Irby, Interim President & CEO of the National Restaurant Association, said, “We still have work to do to ensure that those operators struggling the most can survive. The Association will continue to champion the necessary government support needed at the federal and local levels to help keep these businesses — cornerstones of our communities — on a path to better days.”
A promising noted, the release said, is that while “a few years ago, restaurants couldn’t have managed the level of off-premises demand during the pandemic,” … “technological advances are becoming table stakes for this long-term business channel, with more than eight in 10 operators saying the use of technology in a restaurant provides a competitive advantage, and a good proportion of operators plan to ramp up investments in technology this year.” And, it said, “Many operators will devote their resources to online or app ordering, reservations, mobile payment, or delivery management, in addition to back-of-the-house technology. This is validated by a large number of consumers preferring the use of technology where it doesn’t diminish hospitality.”
Key figures on the restaurant workforce in the report include that “roughly 50 percent of restaurant operators in the full-service, quick-service, and fast-casual segments expect recruiting and retaining employees to be their top challenge in 2022.”
The report said that between 2023 and 2030, “the industry is projected to add an average of 200K jobs each year, with total staffing levels reaching 16.5M by 2030.”
Currently 75 percent of operators “said they plan to devote more resources to recruiting and retaining employees.”
Some 88 percent of adults (including 94 percent of millennials) “say they would be likely to try ordering an expanded variety of food items for takeout or delivery if the restaurant used packaging that helps the food maintain the same temperature, taste, and quality as when it’s served in the restaurant.” Another six in 10 full-service operators “say their menu contains fewer offerings now than it did before the pandemic.”
And, “Fifty-seven percent of adults say they would likely participate in a meal subscription program if it was offered by one of their favorite restaurants. Eight in 10 millennials and Gen Z adults say they would use this option.”
