03/17/2026
Something important is changing in the restaurant industry.
Across the data behind our 2026 Restaurant Guest Engagement Report, one pattern became clear:
Churn is up. Retention is down. And the active guest pool is shrinking.
For three consecutive years, restaurant brands have started the year with fewer active guests than the year before. And in 2025, brands lost 1.4 active guests for every new guest added.
That shift changes how growth works.
When guest pools become less stable and acquisition becomes more expensive, the brands that succeed will be the ones that better understand who their guests are, when engagement begins to decline, and how to keep those relationships active.
To explore what’s driving these trends, we analyzed:
• 77M guests
• 113M transactions
• 3,200+ restaurant locations
The findings offer a clearer view into how guest behavior—and restaurant growth—are evolving.
Download the full report here:
https://datadelivers.com/2026-restaurant-guest-engagement-report/
