Same-store sales and customer traffic

Restaurant operators reported an improvement in both same-store sales and customer traffic in August. 

Fifty-one percent of restaurant operators said their same-store sales increased between August 2025 and August 2026, according to the National Restaurant Association’s monthly tracking survey. That was up from 47% in July. 

Thirty-one percent of operators said their sales declined during the 12-month period, while 18% said their sales remained about the same.

Restaurant operators: Want to know how your business compares to similar restaurants on a monthly basis? Find out by taking a few minutes to participate in the National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Industry Tracking Survey. All survey respondents receive exclusive access to the detailed survey results each month, broken out by industry segment.

Restaurant operators reported a net decline in customer traffic in August, though the readings were better than recent months. 

Forty-three percent of operators said their customer traffic rose between August 2025 and August 2026, up from 40% in July. Forty-six percent of operators reported lower traffic in August, down from 49% in July. 

Despite the improvement, August represented the 18th time in the last 19 months that operators reported a net decline in customer traffic.

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