Restaurant customer retention rate by venue, year on year
What the answer looks like
Illustrative output on sample data
Illustrative example: how Lexi answers this for a family dining chain with 14 venues. It matches POS, reservations and loyalty records to each guest and compares the last 12 months with the 12 before.
- Venue 3: 21,000 guests last year, 8,800 came back. Retention rate = 8,800 ÷ 21,000 × 100 = 42%, down from 47%.
- Venue 8: 18,500 guests, 9,100 came back. Retention rate 49%, up from 46%.
- Group: 44%, steady.
What the data shows
The group rate is flat, but Venue 3 has dropped five points while Venue 8 has gained three.
What it means
Venue 3 lost most ground with families who used to visit monthly, after it cut its kids' menu.
What to do
Bring back a kids' menu at Venue 3 and send lapsed family guests an invitation to return.
Want me to build the lapsed family segment for Venue 3?
Guest retention rate formula
Why it matters
Winning a new guest costs more than keeping one, and a falling retention rate often shows up before sales do. Tracking it by venue, year on year, shows which venues hold on to their guests and which ones rely on a constant stream of new faces.
Frequently asked questions
What is a good customer retention rate for a restaurant?
It depends on the format. Cafes and quick-service venues see far more repeat visits than special-occasion restaurants. The most useful comparison is your own venues year on year, measured with the same time window, so a change in the rate reflects a real change in guest behavior.
How is restaurant customer retention rate calculated?
Take the guests who visited in one period, such as last year, and count how many visited again in the next period. Divide the returning guests by the total from the first period and multiply by 100. Match guests across venues and channels before counting.
Why does guest matching matter for retention rate?
If the same guest pays by card one visit and books online the next, unmatched records count them as two people who each visited once. Retention looks lower than it is. Matching POS, reservations and loyalty records to one guest gives a true rate.