The National Restaurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) registered a healthy increase in January, as restaurant operators reported solid same-store sales and customer traffic readings. The RPI – a monthly composite index that tracks the health of the U.S. restaurant industry – stood at 102.8 in January, up 0.9% from December and the strongest monthly increase in 15 months.
A majority of restaurant operators said their same-store sales and customer traffic levels were higher than January 2022 readings, which was a month that saw business conditions negatively impacted by the omicron variant.
The Current Situation Index, which measures current trends in four industry indicators, stood at 103.0 in January – up 1.3% from a level of 101.7 in December. January represented the second consecutive increase in the Current Situation Index – and the strongest monthly gain since February 2022.
The Expectations Index, which measures restaurant operators’ six-month outlook for four industry indicators, stood at 102.6 – up 0.6% from the previous month. A majority of restaurant operators have a positive outlook for sales in six months, which boosted the Expectations Index to its highest level in 10 months.
