What are the best and worst sales days for indies?
A new study tracked consumer spending at independent restaurants every day for a year. By Heather Lalley on Mar. 20, 2018
Saturdays in December are the busiest for independent restaurants around the country, while Christmas and Thanksgiving are the two worst-performing days on the calendar.
And diners in Washington, D.C., spend significantly more at local restaurants each month than anywhere else in the U.S.
That’s according to a massive survey of indies from software provider Womply, which analyzed credit card transaction data for 25,893 independent restaurants in 50 states and Washington, D.C., for each day in 2017.
Many of Womply’s most interesting findings center on restaurant spending on holidays:
Mother’s Day is the top sales day of the year for two in five independent restaurants.
July 4 is nearly as dismal as those winter holidays; it was the 20th worst day for the surveyed restaurants in 2017.
Though often cited as the second-busiest day for the restaurant industry, Valentine’s Day is just the 107th highest-revenue day for indies.
Cinco de Mayo can be a moneymaker, coming in as the 36th highest-sales day.
The boost from spring break made March the best month for independent operators in Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia and Nevada.
This was first state-of-the industry survey for Womply, which works with credit card processors to collect data for 4 million small businesses across the country.