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The emergence earlier this year of a virulent new coronavirus variant “threatens to reverse the gains made in the first six months of the year” by the U.S. restaurant industry, according to data released Tuesday by the National Restaurant Association.
The news comes as eateries have adopted contactless forms of payment, online ordering, outdoor dining, and other measures over the past 18 months to maintain business, and in some cases to remain open in the face of the pandemic.
The threat of the new delta Covid-19 variant, however, means “there is still a long road ahead,” according to the Washington, D.C.-based NRA, for an industry that is a key retail market for payments providers across the country. Restaurants generated $457 billion in sales in the first seven months of the year, up more than 30% over the same period in 2020, according to information from the U.S. Commerce Department. That number accounts for 11% of all retail and food-service sales.
The delta variant, said to be more contagious than the virus the country has contended with since early 2020, has already forced 60% of restaurant patrons to change their behavior with respect to restaurants, according to an NRA survey of 1,000 adult consumers conducted earlier this month. Nearly one in five said they have “completely stopped going out to restaurants,” according to the results, while nearly one-third indicated they’d be “less likely to dine in a restaurant” if asked to wear a mask or show proof of vaccination.
The results of the NRA study come as the restaurant industry and diners alike struggled to adjust to restrictions imposed over the past year to fight the coronavirus pandemic. Now, the rapid spread of a new variant of the disease threatens a renewed emphasis on measures such as outdoor dining, online ordering, and contactless payments.
The delta variant accounted for more than 80% of all new Covid-19 cases in the United States by the end of July, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control. This follows discovery in December of the first case.
In a February NRA survey, “make ordering and payment easier” topped the list of items for which consumers would like to see restaurants adopt more technology. Some 52% of surveyed consumers asked for this capability, edging out tech for improved customer service at 51%. Meanwhile, the top technology adopted by consumers so far is viewing menus online, at 57%, while 44% cited placing an online order for takeout or delivery. Details about the number of adults included in this survey were not immediately available.
“The trends from the first half of the year are promising, but a lot of uncertainty remains in regard to the delta variant, consumer confidence, and ongoing labor challenges,” said Hudson Riehle, senior vice president of research at the NRA, in a statement. “We expect restaurant pent-up demand will remain high in the coming months. However, in this state of flux, maintaining the availability of onsite dining with few capacity restrictions will be critical to keeping the overall sales momentum going forward, especially for full-service operators.”
