Kalinowski Restaurant Industry Same-Store Sales Index for Q1 2024 Shows Sluggishness
With this report, we update our data-driven Kalinowski Restaurant Industry Index for Q1 2024 to +1.3%. This is the lowest showing since Q4 2020’s -2.2% — and that quarter was hit in part by the pandemic. Looking at quarters not affected by the pandemic, we have to go back to Q4 2016’s weak +0.6% number to find a quarter as sluggish as Q1 2024 was. While some of this reflects adverse weather, particularly during January 2024, it could be a sign of challenging same-store sales in general for the rest of 2024, particularly if lower-income consumers remain more conservative in their restaurant spending than they were during 2023.