Washington—The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) stood at 104.8 in November, up 0.2 percent from October, the association reported Thursday.
The RPI is constructed so that the health of the restaurant industry is measured in relation to a neutral level of 100. Index values above 100 indicate that key industry indicators are in a period of expansion, while index values below 100 represent a period of contraction.
The Current Situation Index, which measures current trends in four industry indicators (samestore sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures), stood at 105.4 in November, up 0.2 percent from October.
A solid majority of restaurant operators continued to report positive same-store sales compared to their year-ago levels. Some 83 percent of operators said their samestore sales rose between November 2020 and November 2021.
Two-year comparisons remained mixed, with 56 percent of restaurant operators saying their November 2021 sales were up from November 2019.
Restaurant operators also continued to report positive traffic readings in November. Some 75 percent of operators said their customer traffic in November 2021 was higher than it was in November 2020.
The Expectations Index, which measures restaurant operators’ six-month outlook for four industry indicators (same-store sales, employees, capital expenditures and business conditions), stood at 104.1 in November, up 0.3 percent from October.
Restaurant operators are generally optimistic about sales growth in the months ahead. Some 59 percent of operators expect their sales volume in six months to be higher than it was during the same period in the previous year. And 13 percent of operators expect their sales volume in six months to be lower than it was during the same period in the previous year.
Restaurant operators also became somewhat more optimistic about the direction of the overall economy in recent months.
Some 37 percent of operators said they expect economic conditions to improve in six months, up from 25 percent during the October survey period. Nineteen percent of operators think economic conditions will worsen in the next six months.
