Thanks for Visiting!

Register for free to get the full story.

Sign Up
Already have a Placer.ai account? Log In

The Evolution of Dining in 2022

by 
Shira Petrack
 on 
April 21, 2022
The Evolution of Dining in 2022

Our latest white paper dives into the dining sector. We examined how this sector is evolving, tapping into community resources, and adapting to consumer desires – and looked at the challenges the industry may be facing. Below is a taste of our findings. The full report can be found here.

Defining the “Out” in “Eating Out” 

Inflation rates have recently begun to rise worldwide, and the United States is feeling the impact. Gas prices have also hit historic highs over the past few months, and consumers have been adjusting their dining habits accordingly. These changes may not only impact how often people go out to grab a bite, but also how far they are willing to drive for their meal. We took a closer look at the data to see how these factors may be driving dining trends.

Gas Prices Impact Dining Habits

While many restaurants suffered early on in the pandemic, one chain’s mode of operation proved very successful. As their name implies, SONIC Drive-In offered customers the best dining experience by COVID standards: With many people reluctant to potentially expose themselves to COVID when dining out, eating in one’s car suddenly proved highly appealing. But as consumers have gotten used to life with COVID and with the new challenge posed by rising gas prices, the draw that once brought in customers may now be keeping them away, with February 2022 seeing the smallest Yo2Y increase in SONIC Drive-In visits since 2020. 


Shorter Drives to the Drive-In 

And it’s not just overall visits that have fallen – Q1 2022 also saw a dip in the distances customers are traveling to reach SONIC Drive-In venues. This can be seen by consumer behavior data from the top two SONIC Drive-In locations in New York, which shows a significant rise in the share of visitors driving less than five miles to reach the venue. 

In Q1 2022, 41.1% of visitors traveled less than five miles to reach the  East Meadow, NY location – up from 38.4% in Q3 and Q4 of 2021. In North Babylon, NY, 44.8% of visitors traveled less than five miles to reach the restaurant in Q1, up from only 38.2% of visitors in Q3 2021. And in both locations, the share of visitors traveling 10 miles or more has dropped significantly. This means that the drop in overall visits is likely coming from SONIC Drive-In patrons living further away who decided to forego their trips to the drive-in until prices level out. 


Diners Prefer Staying Local 

The fast food category is not the only one feeling the impact of high gas prices – full service restaurant visitors are also driving shorter distances to get to their destinations. For example, The Cheesecake Factory in Pittsburgh, PA saw the share of visitors traveling less than five miles increase to 25.6% in Q1 2022, compared with just 22.4% in Q3 2021. 

Similarly, the number of visitors driving less than five miles to reach The Cheesecake Factory in Cleveland, OH has risen from 20.4% in Q4 2021 to 22.5% in Q1 2022. At the same time, the share of visitors who had previously been willing to drive over 30 miles to dine at The Cheesecake Factory dropped from 35.7% to 31.1% for Pittsburgh and from 33.3% to 25.6% for Cleveland between Q3 2021 and Q1 2022. 

These numbers seem to indicate that more and more, customers who are looking to dine out are opting to stay local when choosing where to eat.

For more insights into the evolution of dining in 2022, download the full report here

Get 3 brand & industry
breakdowns every week

Subscribe to the newsletter

Great! Prepare your inbox for data-driven insights...
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

Get a Demo

Please enter your first name
Please enter your last name
Please provide a valid email
Please enter your email
Please enter company name

Thanks for reaching out!

One of our experts will be in touch soon

Try Placer.ai Free
Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.
How Will Primark’s US Expansion Impact Target?
All Eyes on Eyewear
Northwestern U.S. Grocery Dive
Return of the Lunch: Salad Chains Are Thriving
Retail Media Networks – Off the Beaten Track
Bet Your Bottom Dollar: Discount and Dollar Stores Drive Foot Traffic
Ulta & Lululemon: Discretionary Spending On The Up
The Score After Q1: Sporting Goods Chains
Who Uses NYC Airports: Biting Into The Big Apple’s Main Transport Hubs
Off Price: Strength in The Face of Retail Challenges
Visits Improve for Home Improvement
Walmart, Target & Wholesalers in Q1 2023 – The Return of Mission-Driven Shopping?
Department Store Roundup: Q1 2023
Placer.ai Office Index: April 2023 Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index, April 2023 – A Rebound on the Horizon?
How Will Bed Bath & Beyond’s Bankruptcy Impact the Retail Space?
Buffet Restaurants: Filling Up on Foot Traffic
Thrift Stores: Vintage Visits Drive New Age in Apparel
The Windy City: A Hub of Post-Pandemic Opportunity
Diving into Dining Traffic - Q1 2023
Bring On The Joe
A Dollar (or more) For Your Thoughts: Five Below and pOpshelf
Dining Out With The Cheesecake Factory
Retail Foot Traffic Recap – March 2023
Digging Into 2023: McDonald’s and Chipotle Update
Placer.ai Office Index: March 2023 Recap
How Did Key Retail Categories Perform in Q1 2023?
Northeastern USA Grocery Dive
Movie Theaters Storylines for 2023
Ollie's Bargain Outlet: Discounters are Evolving
Leveraging Brick-and-Mortar Retail in 2023
America’s Evolving Work Patterns: A Deep-Dive into New York and Chicago
Placer.ai Mall Index March 2023
Tuning Into Record Stores
Five Franchises To Watch in 2023
What’s Next For Domestic Tourism?
It’s Showtime! Movie Theaters in the Spotlight
5 Limited Time Offers (LTOs) Driving Restaurant Traffic
Department Store Deep-Dive: Belk
Regional Grocery Chains Staying Ahead of the Competition
Five Chains that Rightsized for Success
Unlocking the Potential of Offline Retail Media Networks
Dining Out With Darden
What’s in Store for Self-Storage?
Nike & lululemon Update: Strong Performance Amid Expansion Plans
Many Ways to Win: Midwest Grocery Deep Dive
Retail, Reinvented: The Rise of the Pop-Up Shop
Navigating a New Normal in Business Travel & Commutes
Placer.ai Office Index: February 2023 Recap
Retail Categories Staying Strong in Volatile Environment
Ulta Beauty: Poised for Success into 2023
Placer.ai Mall Index February 2023: Reasons for Continued Optimism
Catching Up With DICK’s & Hibbett
The Miami-Dade Arena: An Advertising Slam Dunk
Car Washes Revving Up Visits
Tuesday Morning and Sunrises in Home Furnishing
Dining & Valentine’s Day Recap
2023: The Year of the Discount Store
Aldi’s Success Highlights Growing Demand for Value Groceries
5 Retail & Service Categories Holding onto Pandemic Gains in 2023
Visitor Insights from Super Bowl 2023
2023 First Look: Home Improvement Update
How Are Target, Walmart, and Wholesale Clubs Faring in 2023?
Department Store Deep-Dive: Nordstrom
Off-Price: Taking Off in Uncertain Times
Checking in On Middle-Class Hubs
Who Attends the Super Bowl?
Placer.ai Office Index: January 2023 Recap
Focusing On Fitness: Q4 and January Recap
Placer.ai Mall Index: January 2023 – Returning Mall Normalcy?
Location Intelligence Insights Into Concert Attendance
Winning Dining Strategies for 2023
In-N-Out Burger: What to Expect as the Brand Moves East
Location Intelligence Breakdown: Coffee Caps-Off 2022
Digitally Native Brands Lean Into Brick & Mortar
Washington, D.C. Population Changes & Migration Trends
A Location Intelligence Perspective on Macy’s Rightsizing
Amazon-Powered Shopping: The Future of Brick-and-Mortar Grocery?
Cold Weather, Hot Visits: Diving into Winter Resorts
Wawa and 7-Eleven: Leaning Into the “Slurpee Effect”
2022 and Beyond: Catching Up With McDonald’s & Chipotle
Let’s Have Some Fun! Going Out Is In
Placer.ai’s Q4 2022 Quarterly Index
Placer.ai Adds Industry Executives to Leadership Team To Drive Company's Next Phase of Growth
5 Emerging Retail Formats: 2023’s Brick-and-Mortar Evolution
Grocery Update: Zooming in on the Lone Star State
2022 Office Recap: The Year of the TGIF Work Week
What Lies Ahead for Brick-and-Mortar Luxury in 2023
Placer.ai Mall Indexes: December 2022 Recap
Looking Back on 2022’s Holiday Shopping Season
Post-Pandemic Migration Trends in New York
Top Retailers for 2023
The Live Sports Advertising Opportunity
Domestic Migration to the Mountain States: Small Shifts with Big Implications
New Year, New Food: 5 Dining Trends For 2023
Announcing Placer.ai’s COVID RECOVERY DASHBOARD
This is Why Shop-in-Shops Are Everywhere
Super Saturday 2022 Recap
The San Francisco Shift
Grocery Year-End Update: Publix in the Spotlight