Inflation continues to be the top challenge for restaurants as they look ahead to 2023, according to a survey conducted by TD, America’s Most Convenient Bank®, at the 2022 Restaurant Finance and Development Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. The poll collected insight from 300 restaurant franchise operators and other finance professionals to identify restaurant franchise finance trends.
In addition to inflation as the top challenge that restaurant franchise professionals are facing, they also cited the labor shortage (32%), supply chain disruptions (16%) and rising interest rates (11%) as factors impacting their businesses. Despite concerns around inflation, operators are still finding opportunities to invest. Data uncovered that investments in physical locations remain a priority from a service perspective, though a near equal number of respondents intend to focus on developing digital and delivery services.
Labor quality and availability has been a particular pain-point. When asked to describe the labor quality and availability due to the current macro environment, 69% respondents said they noticed a decrease in labor quality and availability. Just 24% reported that they have seen an improvement in labor quality and availability.
Top Investment Plans Focus on In-Store Reimagining or Remodeling
While restaurant franchise operators face a number of challenges stemming from the current macro-economic environment, they continue to plan for the future—investing in their businesses to stay ahead of the competition. 41% of restaurant franchise operators said that they plan to invest in in-store reimagining, remodeling or in digital and delivery systems.
Many restaurant operators are looking to invest in technology to further streamline the process from placing an order to receiving your food, with 38% of operators planning to invest in technology such as a new POS, digital signage or other in-store tech and 37% planning to invest in mobile ordering….
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