Realytics links major menu price increases to a sharper rise in negative consumer sentiment in the US than in the UK
Wilmington, Delaware--(Newsfile Corp. - October 19, 2026) - Large menu price increases were followed by a rise in negative price sentiment more than twice as large in the US as in the UK, according to a Realytics analysis across 15 markets.
Read the full report here
Relative to venues that did not raise prices, the share of negative price opinions rose by 5.4 percentage points in the US and 2.3 points in the UK over the following three months. The estimates compare changes before and after a rise with changes at venues in the same country and month without a price increase.
A large increase meant that at least a quarter of a venue's online menu items rose in price in one month, typically by 8% or more. Smaller increases, typically under 5%, were associated with less than one additional negative opinion per 100 price opinions in the combined estimate across all 15 markets.
Before large increases, about 33 in every 100 price opinions were negative; afterward, about 38 were. The share changed little at comparison venues. The association was statistically clear in 14 of the 15 markets. Matching venues on their initial price sentiment still left an overall gap of about 2.5 percentage points across the 15 markets.
How restaurants change menu prices
The broader menu analysis found that 82.4% of price changes were increases, with a median increase of 5.9%. Restaurants also sometimes changed many prices together: in 21.5% of menu repricings, at least half of the tracked items changed price in the same month.
About the analysis
The consumer sentiment analysis includes all eligible restaurants and cafés with both menu price histories and consumer opinions about prices, with no sampling. It covers increases from September 2025 to May 2026 and opinions from June 2025 to August 2026, allowing three months before and after each increase and excluding the month of the increase.
The 95% intervals for the estimated increases in negative price opinions are 4.7 to 6.0 percentage points for the US and 0.9 to 3.6 for the UK. The analysis measures an association between menu price increases and subsequent consumer sentiment; it does not establish causation or measure changes in spending. Country samples differ in their mix of chains and independent venues.
The broader price analysis covers September 2025 to September 2026. A 10% sample of menu items provides about 90 million comparisons of the same item's price at the same venue in consecutive months. Each comparison counts equally, regardless of sales volume. Changes of 0.5% or more are counted. Menu repricing figures use a separate 5% sample of menus with at least 10 tracked items. Posted online prices can differ from prices at the venue.
About Realytics
Realytics maintains a longitudinal panel of physical businesses, using consistent outlet and brand identities to track the same entities over time. Refreshed monthly, the panel combines each business's publicly visible digital footprint - location, brand and category information, menus and prices where available, and consumer feedback - with aggregated consumer activity and market data. Our proprietary methods cross-check records, filter unreliable signals, and turn them into comparable metrics across geographies, categories, and time periods.
Atlas by Realytics is an AI business advisor for local businesses, grounded in this data. Realytics traffic estimates show a correlation above 0.94 with Technomic sales data; population estimates correlate above 0.90 with ACS and national census data; and local spend capacity in Cafés & Restaurants correlates above 0.92 with ACS income data. Demographics and CSAT are cross-checked against clients' first-party data.
Media contact
Maria Nikitina, CMO, Realytics
mnikitina@realytics.com
www.realytics.com
To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/319776
