Report: Restaurant sales continue to rise in May

Black Box Intelligence and People Report released The Restaurant Industry Snapshot for May this week, reporting a third straight month of positive sales.

Same-store sales rose 0.8 percent in May, showing an improvement over April’s 0.4-percent increase. Same-store traffic results declined 1.6 percent, a slight improvement over April.

Consumer Edge Research, a partner company to People Report and Black Box Intelligence, released the Restaurant Willingness to Spend Index last week with a value of 88 for May, an increase over the index score of 86 reported for April. Based on historical data gathered through the partnership, an increase in the index score suggests a higher Black Box Intelligence same-stores sales rate in the month of June.

“Sales are still weaker than we would like to see, but three straight positive sales months is a result not seen since last June through August, 2012,” said Bill Schaffler, president at Black Box Intelligence and People Report. “Additionally, we are encouraged the consumer continues to indicate they may be turning a bit of a corner, as they indicated an increased desire to spend their money two months running, a result we have not observed since 2011. This is encouraging news as we enter the summer months.”

In addition, 104 out of 176 DMAs posted a positive result in May. The New England region performed the best with a 3.5-percent same-store sales increase. The Southwest was the lowest-performing area, with a same-store sales decrease of 1.0 percent.

People Report also presents turnover results by position by segment to their member companies each month. In April, results show management and hourly turnover increasing.

The most recent job growth reported by People Report is an increase of 1.0 percent, higher than last month’s increase of 0.4 percent. The job growth, although positive, remains slower than reported in most of 2012.

The Restaurant Industry Snapshot is a compilation of real sales and traffic results from 170+ DMAs from 100+ restaurant brands and approximately 15,000+ restaurants that are clients of Black Box Intelligence. Currently, data is reported in four distinct segments: casual dining, upscale/fine-dining, fast casual, and family dining. Black Box Intelligence is a sister company to People Report, which tracks one million restaurant employees on workforce analytics. The Restaurant Industry Snapshot also includes the Restaurant Industry Willingness to Spend Index from Consumer Edge Research, which is a monthly household survey of more than 2,500 consumers. Consumer Edge Insights is a marketing partner with Black Box Intelligence and People Report