THE STATE OF LOCAL RESTAURANTS 2018
Alabama
We analyzed transactions for every day of the 2017 calendar year at 26,000 small, independent restaurants across America. The result is a comprehensive look at when restaurants earn the most money, when they seat the most guests, and which states make the most dough from patrons who #eatlocal.
What we learned about Alabama
Restaurants in Alabama typically follow national trends when it comes to daily revenues, average ticket sizes, and the number of transactions per day. However, restaurants in The Yellowhammer State stand out with their better-than-average weekday sales and a large spike during the weeks of Spring Break.
Understanding this report
To understand the average day for restaurants in America, we took a multidimensional look at their performance. We specifically looked at:
- Transactions: How many individual payments restaurants process.
- Ticket Size: How much patrons spend on average per transaction.
- Daily Sales Revenue: How much revenue restaurants make per day.
THE AVERAGE DAY FOR ALABAMA RESTAURANTS
Restaurants in Alabama rank 9th for the average number of transactions each day; the average ticket size is the 25th largest; they are the 14th highest state for average daily revenues. This makes The Yellowhammer State the 12th overall best state for restaurants.
| Transactions | Ticket Size | Sales Revenue |
| 54 | $32 | $1,723 |
| National Rank: 9 | National Rank: 25 | National Rank: 14 |
ALABAMA WEEKDAYS COMPARED TO WEEKENDS
Like most states, restaurants in Alabama see more revenue, transactions, and higher average ticket sizes on the weekend.
ALABAMA’S AVERAGE WEEK
Here we see a day-by-day look at the average daily sales revenue in Alabama compared to the national averages. Alabama follows the trend of higher sales on weekends, but is unique in that it enjoys slightly higher than average weekdays and softer weekends than we see in most states.
THE AVERAGE YEAR FOR ALABAMA RESTAURANTS
On a national level, sales revenues only have a subtle variation from month to month. That mostly holds true for Alabama. Alabama enjoys more consistency throughout the year than some states, its summer months being a particularly stable time.
TOP 5 DAYS FOR ALABAMA RESTAURANTS
Here are the top revenue-generating days for restaurants in Alabama. Like many states, Cinco de Mayo is among the best. Interestingly, Alabama’s top 92 days of the year are all Fridays and Saturdays except for Mother’s Day, which sneaks in at 55th.
| #1 | #2 | #3 | #4 | #5 |
| MAY 5Cinco de Mayo | MAY 6Cinco de Mayo Weekend | APR 1April Fool’s Day | APR 28 | JUL 14 |
| FRIDAY | SATURDAY | SATURDAY | FRIDAY | FRIDAY |
ALABAMA RESTAURANTS ON PROMINENT DAYS
Restaurants put a lot of focus and work into big events and holidays, but how do the most prominent days rank compared to the rest of the year and the average day?
| Day | Rank/365 | Daily Sales | Change in sales | Number of transactions | Change in Transaction Volume | Avg transaction size | Change in Average Ticket |
| Super Bowl | 334 | $1,188 | -31.06% | 40 | -25.53% | $29.57 | -7.50% |
| Valentines Day | 95 | $2,105 | 22.19% | 57 | 5.25% | $37.08 | 16.00% |
| St. Patrick’s | 70 | $2,293 | 33.12% | 71 | 31.71% | $32.28 | 0.99% |
| Cinco De Mayo | 1 | $2,785 | 61.67% | 88 | 62.56% | $31.77 | -0.62% |
| Mother’s Day | 55 | $2,342 | 35.98% | 50 | -7.41% | $46.91 | 46.75% |
| Father’s Day | 93 | $2,128 | 23.53% | 48 | -10.74% | $44.21 | 38.29% |
| July 4th | 347 | $1,123 | -34.78% | 30 | -44.00% | $37.20 | 16.38% |
| Day before T-giving | 114 | $1,852 | 7.50% | 54 | 0.08% | $34.31 | 7.33% |
| Thanksgiving | 364 | $691 | -59.86% | 12 | -77.48% | $56.93 | 78.09% |
| Christmas Eve | 328 | $1,217 | -29.36% | 25 | -53.50% | $48.53 | 51.82% |
| Christmas | 365 | $601 | -65.11% | 11 | -80.38% | $56.81 | 77.70% |
| New Year’s Eve | 111 | $1,864 | 8.23% | 41 | -23.56% | $45.23 | 41.48% |
Methodology
Womply analyzed daily revenue for 25,893 restaurants in all 50 states and the District of Columbia for all 365 days of the 2017 calendar year. Restaurants were only qualified for the analysis if Womply had a full year of transaction history and the business recorded multiple transactions per day, on average. Category and overall state rankings are based on a composite score of each state’s transactions, average ticket sizes, and overall daily revenue.
About Womply
Womply is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider to small businesses and one of the fastest growing software companies in America. Our mission is to help small businesses thrive in a digital world. Every day we serve more than 100,000 small businesses across 400+ business verticals, in every corner of America. To learn more, visit https://www.womply.com or email info@womply.com.
