An overabundance of tipping requests is eating into earnings for restaurant workers and other professions that have traditionally relied on tips as their primary source of income. Consumers say they are asked to tip for different services at different establishments at least five times a week, on average. With 60 percent of consumers reporting that they live paycheck to paycheck, more say they are pulling back on gratuities. This is according to a nationwide study of 1,000 U.S. consumers by Popmenu in November 2023.
Consumers feel under pressure: 61 percent of consumers feel pressure to tip, while 70 percent say they feel guilty if they don't tip, especially when standing in front of a worker during checkout. More than half (53 percent) say they are fed up with being asked to tip by so many service providers.
Tipping is often motivated by protecting one's rep: When asked if they tipped someone when they didn't want to or didn't feel it was necessary, 48 percent of consumers said they did so because they just wanted to be kind while 43 percent didn't want to look like a jerk and 34 percent didn't want to look cheap.
Tips of 20 percent or more for restaurant workers are trending down: One in Four consumers (26 percent) say they tip restaurant delivery drivers 20 percent or more, down from 32 percent in 2022 and 38 percent in 2021. The percentage of consumers tipping restaurant servers 20 percent or more (42 percent) is little changed from last year (43 percent) but is still down from 56 percent in 2021.
Consumers expect to spread extra holiday cheer at restaurants this year: 65 percent of consumers say they tip restaurant staff more over the holidays; 67 percent expect to tip them 20 percent or more—29 percent expect to tip 25 percent or more.
Northeasterners are the most generous to servers, while Midwesterners are the most generous to delivery drivers: 50 percent of Northeast consumers typically tip restaurant servers 20 percent or more compared to 45 percent of those in the Midwest, 41 percent in the West, and 38 percent in the South. Nearly one-third (31 percent) of Midwest consumers typically tip restaurant delivery drivers 20 percent or more compared to 28 percent of consumers in the Northeast, 27 percent in the South, and 20 percent in the West.
"While growth in restaurant gratuities has levelled off to a certain extent as guests contend with tighter budgets and tipping fatigue, around 30 percent of consumers say they still tip restaurant staff more than they did a few years ago," said Brendan Sweeney, CEO and Co-founder of Popmenu.
"Great service will always prevail in terms of gratuity size, but the impact of digital tipping across industries is something to keep an eye on as operators evaluate compensation practices."
