Tracking the same-store sales of 21 major restaurant chains

It also will open an innovation lab in Atlanta later this year to help it test different equipment and layouts. Sales at pizza and casual dining have struggled, while QSR giants like McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Starbucks saw anemic changes and fast casuals including Cava and Chipotle have surged. Any stores that have been newly opened this year and didn’t trade last year will be excluded and the same for any stores that have been closed and didn’t trade this year.

While these sales offer valuable insights, they also come with some challenges that businesses must be aware of. Given below are real-world examples of how companies like Unilever and Target have successfully utilized technology and omnichannel strategies to enhance performance. It’s crucial to ensure that the stores included in the calculation have been operational for at least one year to eliminate the influence of new openings or closures.

Comparable Store Sales: Definition, Calculation Formula, Example

Target’s focus on omnichannel strategies, including in-store and online integration, has contributed to positive comps sales growth. Digital sales have played a critical role, reflecting a broader trend in the retail industry toward e-commerce. Ollie’s also noted the recent acquisition of 40 Big Lots stores “securing the path to our accelerated growth target of 75 stores for fiscal 2025,” up from 50 last year.

• Market analysts frequently use same-store sales to determine the effectiveness of the management of a retail chain in producing revenue growth from existing assets.
• Take our Retail Business Performance Analysis Courses and learn how to deeply analyze a retail business and what reports to generate and metrics to calculate and interpret to uncover performance issues.
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• Sales at pizza and casual dining have struggled, while QSR giants like McDonald’s, Wendy’s and Starbucks saw anemic changes and fast casuals including Cava and Chipotle have surged.

Comparable store sales are typically expressed as a percentage comparable store sales of an increase or decrease in revenue. This example shows how you would calculate the change in comparable store sales from one year to the previous year. A retail company’s 10-Q report for a quarter may show that it brought in $18 million in revenue.

Cannibalization occurs when new stores are opened close to existing ones, effectively splitting the customer base. This can skew the sales figures, making it harder to accurately measure the true performance of established locations. In such cases, while overall revenue may increase across all locations, individual store performance may appear to stagnate or decline. Monitoring these sales helps businesses recognize this cannibalization and adjust their expansion strategies accordingly to avoid self-competition. Positive sales growth indicates that existing stores are generating more revenue, often driven by strong customer demand, effective promotions, or improved customer experiences. Conversely, negative growth may signal declining interest or inefficiencies within the store’s operations.

LFL Growth

The fast casual segment continues to outperform the overall restaurant industry’s comparable sales and unit growth. Wingstop and Cava, which is in the early phases of testing in-store changes, remain top performers and reported double-digit same-store sales growth in each of the last four quarters. Chipotle continues to drive traffic and sales with popular limited-time officers, like its Smoked Brisket and Chicken Al Pastor. The goal of Comparable Store Sales (Same-Store Sales) Analysis is to evaluate the performance of retail locations that have been open for at least one year.

This metric offers a clearer view of a company’s organic growth by isolating factors that may skew performance data, such as the expansion of new stores or the closing of underperforming ones. Investors and analysts reviewing a retail company’s financial statements rely on comparable store sales to provide a picture of how established stores have performed over time relative to the performance of new stores. In effect, comparable store sales is a measure of sales growth and revenue from a company’s store operations. The retailer — which runs more supermarkets in the U.S. than any other company — has reported year-over-year digital sales increases that have exceeded its same-store sales growth for nearly every quarter since the start of 2022. The only exception was during the first quarter of that year, when the retailer saw online sales fall 6% on an annual basis as it lapped unfavorable comparisons with the sales patterns from the pandemic. Assuming comparable store sales are up from a previous period, it is an indication that the retail company is moving in the right bearing.

Why Using Comparable Store Sales Metrics Is an Effective Way to Evaluate Performance

“More and more, our most loyal customers and our most profitable customers are the ones that engage with us in both modalities — those that engage with us digitally and they also engage with us in store,” Foley said. Five years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the sharp digital sales jolt grocers saw as the health crisis gripped the economy seems like a distant memory. Join the academy and take our in-depth courses to learn how to calculate all the important metrics, how to interpret them and how to use this information to devise the right strategies for the business.

Beyond their cost, those centralized fulfillment centers can slow down delivery times, putting Kroger at a disadvantage compared with Walmart, which uses individual stores to fulfill online orders, Mushkin observed. Comparable store sales alludes to the revenue created by a retail location in the latest accounting period relative to the revenue it produced in a comparative period in the past. The management wants to evaluate the performance of its two oldest outlets, ‘P’ & ‘Q,’ by evaluating the sales booked in February & March. Effective promotions can attract new customers and encourage repeat visits, thereby increasing sales. For example, limited-time discounts or loyalty programs can create a sense of urgency and incentivize purchases.

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Tariffs are expected to provide a tailwind to the secondhand market as shoppers prioritize affordability and retailers seek stability. The question is whether Kroger can leverage its online strength to bolster its ability to keep up as the grocery industry continues to evolve. Retailers can introduce eco-friendly products, reduce plastic usage, and implement recycling programs to appeal to this demographic. Highlighting these efforts through marketing campaigns can differentiate a brand and foster customer loyalty, ultimately driving sales.

• AI also powered Axe A.I. Body Spray and BeautyHub PRO, a personalized skincare and haircare tool, which increased purchase likelihood by 43%.
• Furthermore, by watching the trend of sales, a business can get valuable insights into a store’s long-term revenue trajectory.
• Comparable store sales refers to the revenue generated by a retail location in the most recent accounting period relative to the revenue it generated in a similar period in the past.
• In this case the data needs to be looked at in more details, where more questions need to be asked.
• This metric excludes any revenue from new stores or those that have closed, providing a clearer picture of organic growth.

A negative number shows declining same-store sales, while a positive number shows expanding same-store sales. Negative or positive same-store sales may be due to expanding or falling prices or a change in the number of customers who frequent the stores. Same store sales or comparable store sales (comps) is an important measure to asses a company’s growth, as well as the retailer’s financial health.

Industry Intel

For example, machine learning can reveal how weather conditions influence consumer purchasing decisions, allowing retailers to optimize their inventory and marketing efforts based on weather forecasts. Additionally, machine learning can segment customers into distinct groups based on their purchasing behaviors, enabling more personalized marketing strategies that resonate with different customer segments. Same store sales growth depends on how long the businesses has been open and the market situation.

Geospatial analysis offers a unique perspective by examining the geographical aspects of sales data. This technique can identify regional sales patterns and uncover location-specific factors that influence performance. For example, geospatial analysis might reveal that stores in urban areas perform better during weekdays, while those in suburban regions see higher sales on weekends. Such insights can inform location-specific marketing strategies and operational adjustments, ensuring that each store is optimized for its unique context.

In this case the data needs to be looked at in more details, where more questions need to be asked. Take our Retail Business Performance Analysis Courses and learn how to deeply analyze a retail business and what reports to generate and metrics to calculate and interpret to uncover performance issues. Comparable store sales refers to the revenue generated by a retail location in the most recent accounting period relative to the revenue it generated in a similar period in the past. The comps sales offer a critical perspective on a store’s operational performance, particularly when faced with challenges like cannibalization and increased competition. Domino’s has been the strongest of the major publicly traded pizza chains in the past eight quarters.