Toast Restaurant Trends Report: The Cost of Going Out to Lunch

September 10, 2024 at 08:00 AM EDT

The Q2 2024 Restaurant Trends report examines popular lunch food trends, quick-service restaurant transactions in 20 U.S. cities, restaurant employee wages, and tipping data.

Toast (NYSE: TOST), the all-in-one digital platform built for restaurants, today announced its Q2 2024 Restaurant Trends Report, providing insight into the overall state of the U.S. restaurant industry through an analysis of aggregated data from selected cohorts of restaurants and in select U.S. cities on the Toast platform, which serves approximately 120,000 restaurant locations as of June 30, 2024. Read more details about our methodology below.

Key takeaways:

In Q2 2024, guests at quick-service restaurants (QSRs) paid an average of $11.26 (+4.6% YOY) for sandwiches and wraps, $12.98 (+4.6%) for bowls, $11.45 (+4.6% YOY) for burgers, $11.42 (+2.7% YOY) for salads, $10.74 (+4.3% YOY) for burritos, $6.04 (+4.4% YOY) for an order of fries, and $3.00 (+4.6% YOY) for a soda.¹
Sandwiches and wraps were the most popular food at quick-service restaurants in every state except California, Nevada, Oregon, and Texas, where tacos are the most popular. Bowls were most popular in Hawaii, and salads were the most popular item in Utah.¹
Consumer spending at quick-service restaurants in 20 U.S. cities Toast explored saw a noticeable shift to breakfast and away from dinner and late-night transactions.²
In June, cashiers at quick-service restaurants in California made a median hourly wage of $16.98.³
Tipping dropped slightly in Q2 2024 to a total average of 18.8%. Full-service restaurant tips also dipped to 19.3%, and quick-service restaurant tips dropped to 15.9%.⁴

Toast Benchmarking powers the Restaurant Trends Report's menu insights. This tool leverages AI-based classification and allows users to compare restaurant and menu category performance against aggregated data from peer Toast restaurants.

The cost of going out to lunch

To gauge the cost of going out to lunch for consumers compared to last year, Toast examined same-store sales at quick-service restaurants on the Toast platform among 13 different food types: tacos, fries, hot dogs, dumplings, soups/stews, quesadillas, chicken tenders, burritos, sandwiches/wraps, salads, burgers, bowls, and noodles/ramen.

Burgers, bowls, and noodles/ramen topped the list as the most expensive items, while tacos, fries, and hot dogs were the cheapest. Tacos (+5.9%), sandwiches/wraps (+4.6%), burgers (+4.6%), and bowls (+4.6%) saw the largest increase in pricing in Q2 2024 compared to Q2 2023.

The price of hot dogs (+1.9%), salads (+2.7%), and dumplings (+3.8%) grew the slowest in Q2 2024 compared to last year.

Hot dog sales dipped 9% in Q2 2024 compared to Q2 2023, while sales of bowls, chicken tenders, and burritos rose 1%.

View the full report on the Toast Newsroom.

Methodology:

¹Toast analyzed transactions at quick-service restaurants on the Toast platform from April 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024, to determine the price growth of tacos, fries, hot dogs, dumplings, soup/stew, quesadillas, chicken tenders, burritos, sandwiches/wraps, salads, burgers, bowls, and noodles/ramen. Toast used a cohort of same-store restaurants on the platform since Q1 2023.

²Toast analyzed hourly transactions at quick-service restaurants on the Toast platform from April 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024. Toast used a cohort of same-store restaurants on the platform since Q1 2023.

³Data from applicable same-store quick-service restaurants on the Toast platform from January 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024. Salaried, overtime, bonus wages, and paid time off are not included. Employees included in the analysis worked a minimum of five hours in the payroll period. Hourly wages do not include tips. Base wages are the total wages divided by the number of hours worked.

⁴Data from applicable restaurants on the Toast platform where a tip was added to the order via a card or digital payment from April 1, 2024, to June 30, 2024. Cash tips are not included in the analysis.

About the Restaurant Trends Report:

The Restaurant Trends Report, powered by Toast, uncovers key trends across the restaurant industry through aggregated sales data from a selection of cohorts of restaurants on the Toast platform, which has approximately 120,000 locations as of June 30, 2024. This information is provided for general informational purposes only, and publication does not constitute an endorsement. Toast does not warrant the accuracy or completeness of any information, text, graphics, links, or other items contained within this content. Individual results may vary. Toast does not guarantee you will achieve any specific results if you follow any advice herein. It may be advisable for you to consult with a professional such as a lawyer, accountant, or business advisor for advice specific to your situation. The Restaurant Trends Report is not indicative of the operational performance of Toast or its reported financial metrics.

About Toast

Toast [NYSE: TOST] is a cloud-based, all-in-one digital technology platform purpose-built for the entire restaurant community. Toast provides a comprehensive platform of software as a service (SaaS) products and financial technology solutions that give restaurants everything they need to run their business across point of sale, payments, operations, digital ordering and delivery, marketing and loyalty, and team management. We serve as the restaurant operating system, connecting front of house and back of house operations across service models including dine-in, takeout, delivery, catering, and retail. Toast helps restaurants streamline operations, increase revenue, and deliver amazing guest experiences. For more information, visit www.toasttab.com.