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. 

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. 

It’s clear that online food delivery (OFD) 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%.

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 amount 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.

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.

The joint report is available to download here, with comments from Uber Eats, Mastercard, the Restaurant and Catering Association and Planet Ark available below – 

“The longtail impact of the coronavirus continues to ripple through the economy. Deferred impact has appeared in the form of higher rental costs, growing insurance premiums, increasing utility and wage bills, and more expensive raw ingredients. While the main pain-points differ between states and territories, there is one shared thread – cautious optimism. This is likely fuelled by the solutions restaurant owners are unearthing to provide additional revenue to offset their increasing operating costs. Pleasingly, one consistently identified growth lever was online food delivery – which is seeing double digit growth in transaction volume across the country – providing incremental revenue with near zero capital investment,” said Uber Eats ANZ General Manager Ed Kitchen.

“During the past year, 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. Interest rates remain stubbornly high impacting almost all cost inputs. The sector is now experiencing complex and severe industrial relations pressures that were never present. Adjacent to this is that the sector has not returned to pre-covid apprenticeship rates. Electricity prices have exploded, which is having a fundamental impact for a sector that is a major consumer of energy – be it heating, cooking, cooling, entertaining. In combination these factors are impacting the ability for the sector to operate. In contrast there are some beneficial outcomes that have arisen over the past year. Firstly, there has been an uptake in online food delivery. 

“Secondly, the catering sector has experienced an uptick in terms of activity, which pleasingly suggests a return to various types of catering. Given the challenges that the sector faces, R&CA has been consistent in our request from government. Firstly, an investment by the government in skills. Secondly, an ongoing and sustainable subsidy to energy prices. Both of these initiatives will continue to assist a sector faced by challenging circumstances,” said R&CA CEO Suresh Manickam.

“The latest data continues to demonstrate a shift in consumer preferences in an ever-changing world, driven by cost-of-living challenges and post-pandemic shifts. Although consumers appear to be cutting back on some discretionary spending, we continue to see them prioritising funds for things they are passionate about. 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

“Planet Ark research over recent years has consistently shown that Australians are hungry for more sustainable options, with the restaurant industry being no exception. These findings suggest a sizeable and growing interest from restaurants in providing such sustainable options to customers.

For restaurants to make changes that reflect positive movement towards real sustainability they will need education and evidence to work from, which are key goals of our ongoing partnership with Uber Eats.

Their support allows us to build our educational offering to both restaurants and Australian consumers, helping accelerate progress towards improved sustainability across the sector.” said Planet Ark CEO, Rebecca Gilling

FOOOTNOTES:

* Spending Pulse – 11/08/23 – to 11/08/2024 (all of retail excluding auto).

** Research was conducted by Censuswide, among a sample of 500 Australian Restaurant Owners (18+), The data was collected took between 07.08.2024 – 14.08.2024, the survey took place online.

*** R&CA Benchmarking Report 2023.

**** From July 2023 compared to July 2024