July RPI Falls for Second Consecutive Month

The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI), which tracks the health of the U.S. restaurant industry, took a dip for the second consecutive month in July, falling 0.5% to 100.8.

The association says the decline comes as restaurant operators reported softer same-store sales and traffic levels. For the first time in 17 months, most operators did not report higher same-store sales compared to a year ago, and traffic was negative for the second consecutive month.

The RPI is based on a Current Situation Index and an Expectations Index. The Current Situation Index (which measures trends in same-store sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures) fell 1.2% in July to 100.5, while the Expectations Index (which measures trends in same-store sales, employees, capital expenditures and business conditions) rose 0.2% to 101.1, marking the first increase in seven months.

Here are other key figures from the July RPI:

• 45%: The percentage of restaurant operators who said their same-store sales rose between July 2021 and July 2022—down from 64% in June.
• 26%: The percentage of restaurant operators reporting their customer traffic rose between July 2021 and July 2022—down from 31% in June.
• 67%: The percentage of restaurant operators who made a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling during the last three months—down from 69% in June.
• 35%: The percentage of restaurant operators who expect their sales volume in six months to be higher than during the same period in the previous year—down from 48% in June.
• 25%: The percentage of restaurant operators who think economic conditions will improve in six months—up from 20% in June.
• 67%: The percentage of restaurant operators planning to make a capital expenditure for equipment, expansion or remodeling during the next six months—up from 62% in June.