Tough times notwithstanding, app shows 3% rise in eat-out dining
SA’s restaurant industry recorded a surprise increase in the number of guests dining at eateries, according to the latest Dineplan trends report.
The positive outcome comes despite the financial challenges faced by consumers and businesses as they deal with high inflation, underpinned primarily by rising food and fuel prices.
High interest rates have also increased debt service costs, while load-shedding has eaten into company profits and cut employment opportunities.
The 2023 Dineplan trends report was released in February, and shows the average restaurant served 3% more guests in 2023 than in 2022. Dineplan processed 4.3-million reservations, translating to 22.6-million diners nationwide, a 27% jump from the previous year.
Dineplan is a specialist restaurant reservation management software provider and reservation platform. Founder and director Greg Whitfield said though not all restaurants were included in the data, insights from more than 2,000 SA establishments, offered an upbeat perspective on the sector.
Whitfield said the report not only provided insights into the SA restaurant industry and dining habits, but also gave stakeholders valuable data to navigate the dynamic landscape.
“Restaurants [had to] navigate a tough operating environment in 2023,” Whitfield said.
“They play a positive role in both the upliftment of our country through tourism and job creation while providing ... citizens with a platform to socialise and build community.”
According to Stats SA, the tourism sector directly contributed 2.3% to GDP in 2021, an increase from 2020’s contribution of 2.1%. This was still significantly lower than 3.7% in 2019.
The agency noted in 2021 that the tourism sector’s economic contribution was about the same as the construction industry.
The sector directly employed 492,561 individuals in 2021, up from 454,114 in 2020 but well below the 777,686 in 2019.
In 2021, almost two in every 10 tourism sector jobs were in the food and beverages serving industry, Stats SA data shows.
Whitfield said in 2023, data from Stats SA showed restaurants helped in saving the food and beverage sector by outshining takeaway and fast-food outlets as well as catering services with regards to their contributions to income.
“Not only has this resulted in a 5% increase in income year on year, but [also contributed] a 1.8% rise in total income over the fourth quarter of 2023,” he said.
The restaurant industry was expected to continue along this trajectory in 2024, he said.
Whitfield said there were a number of new key pointers from the report for restaurateurs and diners to consider.
“Online bookings have become more [popular] ... than telephonic bookings,” Whitfield said. “The report shows while phone bookings dropped by 7.5% in 2023, online bookings surged by an impressive 9.3%, with the app experiencing a 50% increase in both users and bookings throughout the year.”
He said the data showed that diners would on average make a booking eight days in advance, with Thursdays at 12pm being the peak time for planning and making reservations, while 6pm on Fridays emerged as the preferred time for dining out.
The average party size remained consistent, but there was an increase to six people in December and the festive season.
He said another trend highlighted in the report was the increased effect of reviews on restaurants.
“We observed a significant 15% increase in the number of diners leaving reviews after their dining experience compared to 2022, underscoring the changing landscape of diner behaviour, with people sharing more feedback online,” he said.
“It is also heartening to note that the average review score remains high at 4.4 out of five stars, reflecting consistently positive dining experiences.
The Dineplan platform processes 25,000 public reviews per month, averaging 808 per day.”
He said deposits were also becoming the norm. The report highlighted a substantial 42% increase in the volume of booking deposits in 2023 compared with the previous year.
This trend has helped to decrease the average rate of “noshows” to 1.6%. This is in stark contrast to the industry-accepted average no-show rate of 20%, or one in five tables, at restaurants that do not employ these practices.
The most booked restaurants on the platform in 2023 were in Johannesburg, with JoyJozi (Dunkeld) topping the list, followed by Chefs Warehouse at Tintswalo Atlantic and Rosetta’s Bistro Restaurant Kitchen (Kempton Park).
Chefs Warehouse at Maison (Franschhoek) and Modern Tailors (Rosebank) were also in the top five.
Other restaurants in the top 10 were Bodega Ramen (Cape Town CBD), NV-80 (Sea Point), Chefs Warehouse Beau (Constantia), Chefs Warehouse at The Bailey and The Nines, part of the Kove Collection in Sea Point.
“These restaurants have resonated with our users, embodying the diverse and vibrant culinary scene in SA,” he said.