According to new data from Yelp (June 2022), consumers and restaurants are continuing to feel the impact of the industry’s labor shortage and inflation. In addition, many restaurants are experiencing an increase in reservations, as well as high requests for both indoor and outdoor dining. Yet, Yelp noted that even as on-premise dining picks up, takeout demand remains high.
In Q1, Customers Mention Long Waits on Yelp
Across the entire restaurant industry, the ongoing labor shortage continues to be a top challenge facing restaurants, per Yelp. The company’s new data showed that in Q1 2022, consumers mentioned long waits (23 percent) and short staffing (229 percent) more in reviews than in Q1 of the previous year.
Yelp said that to address this industry wide challenge, many restaurants have continued to adjust their operating hours, menu options, available tables and more.
As Americans are increasingly returning to on-premise dining at restaurants with more than 13 million diners seated via Yelp in Q1 2022, up 48 percent compared to Q1 2021, some have embraced technologies, like Yelp Guest Manager, to more easily handle front-of-house operations – automating check-in, managing waitlists and contacting diners – to allow hosts to support other areas of the business. By automating specific steps in the dining experience, the savings on labor can be re-distributed in other ways to the restaurant.
Menu Price Inflation
In addition to longer wait times, Yelp said that consumers are also experiencing near-record menu price inflation, and Yelp data revealed that consumers are conscious of these price changes.
Restaurant review mentions of increased prices were up 25 percent in Q1 2022. Yet, as Yelp previously reported in Q1 2022, many consumers are actually seeking out higher-priced dining experiences, which could mean that while conscious of inflation they want to spend their money on high quality experiences.
On-Premise Dining Grows in the Southeast and California
Yelp data also proved that the return to on-premise dining has especially grown in cities in the Southeast and California.
Southeast cities with the highest year-over-year quarterly growth include:
- Panama City, Fla. (diners seated via Yelp up 212 percent in Q1 2022 compared to Q1 2021)
- Huntsville, Ala. (up 183 percent)
- Sevierville, Tenn. (up 183 percent)
- Columbia, S.C. (up 176 percent)
- LaGrange, Ga. (up 158 percent)
- Port St. Lucie, Fla. (up 113 percent)
- Fort Myers, Fla. (up 97 percent)
- Memphis, Tenn. (up 73 percent)
California cities with the most growth include:
- Vallejo (up 917 percent)
- Santa Cruz (up 225 percent)
- Stockton (up 187 percent)
- Santa Barbara (up 170 percent)
- Thousand Oaks (up 166 percent)
- Salinas (up 158 percent)
- San Francisco (up 158 percent)
- San Jose (up 145 percent)
On-premise Dining Is Back, Takeout Remains Strong
According to the June 2022 Yelp data, searches for reservations in Q1 2022 were up 107 percent compared to Q1 2021. As dining restrictions have eased and more people are vaccinated, Yelp data indicated that consumers are expressing a preference for indoor seating, while demand for outdoor seating still remains high.
Searches for outdoor seating were up 1,060 percent in Q1 2022, compared to the same period in Q1 2020. Meanwhile, searches for indoor dining were up 6,360 percent compared to the same period in Q1 2020. These large increases also further demonstrate the rarity of these kinds of searches before the pandemic.
Overall, as on-premise dining rebounds, takeout remains strong, per Yelp’s data. Consumers searched for takeout 31 percent less than in Q1 2021, but 107 percent more than in Q1 2020 and 144 percent more than in Q1 2019 – demonstrating that takeout has become a pandemic trend that may be here to stay. Yelp said that this remains true across both local (defined as restaurants with five or less locations) and multi-location restaurants (defined as restaurants with more than five locations). Review mentions of takeout at local restaurants in 2022 are currently 37 percent lower compared to the same period (Jan-April) in 2021, and 38 percent higher than in the same period of 2019.
Yelp review mentions of takeout at multi-location restaurants in 2022 are 40 percent lower compared to the same period (Jan-April) in 2021, and 47 percent higher than in the same period of 2019. Notably, compared to the pre-pandemic period, review mentions of takeout for multi-location restaurants grew by nine percentage points more than for single-location restaurants (+47 percent vs. +38 percent).
Yelp concluded that as the restaurant industry continues its road to recovery, there is optimism for its future. New restaurants open every day, and on Yelp, the company has seen growth in more unique dining experiences, supper clubs and themed cafes.
To learn more about Yelp data insights, visit Knowledge.Yelp.com.
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