Now in its third year, the Restaurant and Catering Association, Mastercard and Uber Eats have combined data and insights to unearth the key challenges and opportunities for the nearly 60 thousand small business operators and more than 300 thousand people who contribute to the sector in Australia.
The findings are distilled from Mastercard Australia SpendingPulse™ insights (which measures in-store and online retail sales across all forms of payment), Uber Eats data relating to Australian merchants, survey responses from restaurant owners across the country, and research from the R&CA.
The report shows that, like many other industries, restaurants are still grappling with the longtail economic impacts that have rippled through the economy since the pandemic.
Amid the dual challenges of rising costs and shrinking revenues, 4 in 10 restaurateurs surveyed report being in a more difficult financial position than a year ago.
“Australia’s restaurant, cafes and catering sectors have experienced an unprecedented fusion of a number of factors that have created one of the most challenging economic landscapes in recent history,” said R&CA CEO Suresh Manickam.
However, there may be relief on the horizon. Perhaps anticipating an interest rate cut and expected falls in energy prices, almost one in two restaurants believe they will be in a less difficult financial position in the next 12 months.
Online food delivery
Online food delivery is playing a key part in diversifying restaurants’ revenue streams, helping them through this time. Almost all of the restaurants surveyed said that using delivery platforms had increased their revenue over the past year, with almost one in four saying that online food delivery has helped keep their business afloat during these challenging times.
Mastercard’s SpendingPulse data shows that the majority of that uplift has come from e-commerce transactions – with online transactions up 12.5% compared to on premise spending which increased by 3.3%.
“Australia’s passion for food has allowed the restaurant industry to continue to grow, but with a shift towards online delivery as Aussies embrace the thriving food culture in a different way,” said Mastercard Chief Economist Asia Pacific, David Mann
Growth in online purchasing is a trendline mirrored in the data from Uber Eats over the last 12 months – with double digit growth in the number of restaurants on the Uber Eats platform, and single digit growth in the increase of ordering occasions across breakfast and lunch time. This shows that restaurants are savvily tapping into the increasing online demand and unlocking revenue at more times throughout the day.
Sustainability
This year, sustainability has also become a focus for restaurants looking to future-proof their business, with almost one in five introducing more sustainable and eco-friendly dining offerings and almost a third saying they would value help to switch to more sustainable packaging.
“Planet Ark research over recent years has consistently shown that Australians are hungry for more sustainable options, with the restaurant industry being no exception,” said Planet Ark CEO, Rebecca Gilling .
“These findings suggest a sizeable and growing interest from restaurants in providing such sustainable options to customers.”
