WASHINGTON Restaurateurs are still treading rough economic waters, but more foresee calm seas ahead, according to the latest monthly operator survey from the National Restaurant Association.
The Association’s Restaurant Performance Index, or RPI, stood at 97.9 in August, down 0.2 percent from July, and its third decline in the last four months, the NRA said Wednesday. The RPI is a monthly composite index that tracks the health of and outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry based on indicators including sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures. It is based on a 100-point scale.
The majority of the decline was tagged to customer traffic levels that dropped in August, according to the NRA. Only 17 percent of restaurant operators reported a same-store sales increase between August 2008 and August 2009, down from the 26 percent of respondents who reported a sales gain in July, and the lowest reading in the seven-year history of the RPI. The vast majority of operators, or 68 percent, reported a same-store sales drop in August, up from 58 who reported negative sales in July, the NRA report showed.
Still, operators’ outlook for both industry sales growth and the overall economy in the months ahead improved. Thirty-two percent of restaurant operators expect to have higher sales in six months, versus the same period a year earlier, up slightly from 31 percent who reported similarly last month. Thirty-four percent of restaurant operators said they expect economic conditions to improve in six months, up two percentage points from last month.
“Although the RPI remained below 100 for the 22nd consecutive month, which signals contraction, there are clear signs of improvement,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of the research and knowledge group for the NRA. “Restaurant operators reported a positive six-month outlook for both same-store sales and the overall economy, which drove the expectations component of the RPI to its highest level in four months.”
Contact Sarah Lockyer at [email protected]