National restaurant sales metrics for January 2025 are here!
No need to adjust your screen, our charts went through a glow-up last month.
We first started reporting restaurant sales numbers during the pandemic in 2020 to provide operators with up-to-date information on how restaurant sales were performing week by week. With shutdowns, stay-at-home mandates and other volatility, our charts were built specifically to help tell the story of how those changes affected restaurants on a seven-day moving average.
Thankfully, restaurant sales have stabilized over the last few years, and how we report these metrics should better suit the needs of running a restaurant today. Rest assured, it's the same data, now presented in a more meaningful way.
The trailing 4-week (28-day) average of year-over-year (YOY) sales by segment chart essentially gives you a monthly YOY average, with the trailing 28 days accounting for the months being different lengths. Last month, Fast Casual came in at +1.99% and Full Service at -2.9% at the end of January compared to January 2024 sales.
The 7-day moving average chart shows more granular data on daily trends. In last month's chart, for example, both segments show a bump from January 20th to 22nd, likely due to the three-day MLK Day weekend.
Food costs averaged 31% of sales last month, reflecting a slight jump from December's average.
Long hot peppers topped our Droppers list with prices -41% lower on average than in December, followed by blood oranges and cauliflower. Honeydew melons topped the Movers list, with an average 35% price increase from December. Eggs also made the Movers list, with a further 22% price increase last month and are still going up. Here's our most recent national egg price chart.
Regionally, the Midwest and West ended January with 3% and 3% growth, respectively.
January was a strong month for Fast Casual, but we're really looking forward to how Valentine's Day shakes out for Full Service in February, especially falling on a Friday this year. We'll see you in March!