{"id":7267,"date":"2026-02-13T14:10:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T19:10:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/?post_type=research&#038;p=7267"},"modified":"2026-02-13T17:04:02","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T22:04:02","slug":"affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining","status":"publish","type":"research","link":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/","title":{"rendered":"Affordability Pressures Persist, but Social\u00a0Activities Still Drive Dining\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Restaurants Canada\u2019s January REACT Survey shows&nbsp;Canadians cut back on dining out&nbsp;at the&nbsp;start of the year, with the Consumer Dining Index declining amid ongoing affordability pressures and severe winter weather.&nbsp;As a result,&nbsp;dining frequency has eased, particularly among higher-frequency visitors.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Affordability&nbsp;remains&nbsp;the biggest reason Canadians are cutting back. 44% said budget pressures led them to dine out less often in January, making household finances the most significant factor&nbsp;impacting&nbsp;restaurant visits. Winter weather also dampened activity, particularly in Ontario, but financial concerns continue to weigh most heavily on dining decisions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The impact is even more pronounced among younger Canadians. More than half of Gen Z, 51%, reported dining out less often because of budget constraints, compared to 44% nationally.&nbsp;Gen Z is also more likely to feel time pressure, with 32% citing limited time as a reason for dining out less often, versus 18% overall.&nbsp;By contrast, Baby Boomers appear&nbsp;somewhat less&nbsp;affected by financial pressures, with 35% dining out less often because of budget concerns.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"791\" src=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chart-1-4-1024x791.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7268\" style=\"width:750px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chart-1-4-1024x791.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chart-1-4-300x232.png 300w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chart-1-4-768x593.png 768w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chart-1-4-1536x1186.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chart-1-4-2048x1582.png 2048w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chart-1-4-600x463.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>At the same time, restaurants&nbsp;remain&nbsp;central to social connection. Social activities and gatherings were the only factor with a net positive effect on dining frequency, with 28% of Canadians dining out more often for this reason. Among Gen Z, that jumps to 42%, highlighting the importance of restaurants as social spaces. Time availability also plays a role, with one in four Gen Z respondents saying having more time led them to dine out more often, compared to 13% nationally.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"791\" src=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chart-2-5-1024x791.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7270\" style=\"width:750px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chart-2-5-1024x791.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chart-2-5-300x232.png 300w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chart-2-5-768x593.png 768w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chart-2-5-1536x1186.png 1536w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chart-2-5-2048x1582.png 2048w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Chart-2-5-600x463.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>For a deeper look at how affordability, weather, and generational differences are shaping consumer behaviour, explore the full January REACT Survey in the button below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-16018d1d wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button has-custom-width wp-block-button__width-50\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-medium-font-size has-custom-font-size wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/react-survey-january-2026\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>JANUARY REACT <\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:37% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"800\" src=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sara-hamdy.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-6574 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sara-hamdy.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sara-hamdy-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sara-hamdy-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sara-hamdy-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sara-hamdy-500x500.jpg 500w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sara-hamdy-600x600.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/sara-hamdy-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">As a <strong>Research Analyst with Restaurants Canada, Sara Hamdy <\/strong>contributes to a research program that helps make Restaurants Canada a trusted source of insight for and about Canada\u2019s $125-billion foodservice industry. Sara develops and maintains analytical reports and interactive dashboards that present key economic and market trends in a clear and engaging way for members and the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Her work supports Restaurants Canada\u2019s advocacy and industry initiatives by transforming complex data into accessible information that guides operators, policymakers, and media.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Restaurants Canada\u2019s January REACT Survey shows&nbsp;Canadians cut back on dining out&nbsp;at the&nbsp;start of the year, with the Consumer&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7272,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"research-type":[177],"advocacy-issue":[],"class_list":["post-7267","research","type-research","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","research-type-economists-notebook"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Affordability Pressures Persist, but Social\u00a0Activities Still Drive Dining\u00a0 - Restaurants Canada<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Affordability Pressures Persist, but Social\u00a0Activities Still Drive Dining\u00a0 - Restaurants Canada\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Restaurants Canada\u2019s January REACT Survey shows&nbsp;Canadians cut back on dining out&nbsp;at the&nbsp;start of the year, with the Consumer...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Restaurants Canada\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RestaurantsCanada\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-13T22:04:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2187089050-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2121\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1414\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@RestaurantsCA\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/\",\"name\":\"Affordability Pressures Persist, but Social\u00a0Activities Still Drive Dining\u00a0 - Restaurants Canada\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2187089050-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-13T19:10:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-13T22:04:02+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2187089050-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2187089050-1.jpg\",\"width\":2121,\"height\":1414,\"caption\":\"Group of multi ethnic friends enjoying a meal together outdoors, sharing nachos with salsa and other snacks like pizza and grapes during a casual celebration\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Affordability Pressures Persist, but Social\u00a0Activities Still Drive Dining\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/\",\"name\":\"Restaurants Canada\",\"description\":\"La voix des services alimentaires\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Restaurants Canada\",\"alternateName\":\"RC\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"fr-FR\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/rcsparkdev.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/rc-brand-colour.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/rcsparkdev.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/rc-brand-colour.svg\",\"width\":1,\"height\":1,\"caption\":\"Restaurants Canada\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RestaurantsCanada\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/RestaurantsCA\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Affordability Pressures Persist, but Social\u00a0Activities Still Drive Dining\u00a0 - Restaurants Canada","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Affordability Pressures Persist, but Social\u00a0Activities Still Drive Dining\u00a0 - Restaurants Canada","og_description":"Restaurants Canada\u2019s January REACT Survey shows&nbsp;Canadians cut back on dining out&nbsp;at the&nbsp;start of the year, with the Consumer...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/","og_site_name":"Restaurants Canada","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RestaurantsCanada","article_modified_time":"2026-02-13T22:04:02+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2121,"height":1414,"url":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2187089050-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@RestaurantsCA","twitter_misc":{"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/","url":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/","name":"Affordability Pressures Persist, but Social\u00a0Activities Still Drive Dining\u00a0 - Restaurants Canada","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2187089050-1.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-13T19:10:17+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-13T22:04:02+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2187089050-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/iStock-2187089050-1.jpg","width":2121,"height":1414,"caption":"Group of multi ethnic friends enjoying a meal together outdoors, sharing nachos with salsa and other snacks like pizza and grapes during a casual celebration"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/research\/affordability-pressures-persist-but-social-motivations-still-drive-dining\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Affordability Pressures Persist, but Social\u00a0Activities Still Drive Dining\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/","name":"Restaurants Canada","description":"La voix des services alimentaires","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/#organization","name":"Restaurants Canada","alternateName":"RC","url":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/rcsparkdev.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/rc-brand-colour.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/rcsparkdev.wpenginepowered.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/rc-brand-colour.svg","width":1,"height":1,"caption":"Restaurants Canada"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/RestaurantsCanada","https:\/\/x.com\/RestaurantsCA"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research\/7267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/research"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7272"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"research-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/research-type?post=7267"},{"taxonomy":"advocacy-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.restaurantscanada.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/advocacy-issue?post=7267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}