USA | More than 77 percent of restaurant customers have called tipping "ridiculous", and many are tipping less as a result.
Tipping fatigue continues to plague U.S. consumers, impacting industries that rely on gratuities as part of their income. Two-thirds (65 percent) of consumers say they are fed up with tipping, up from 60 percent last year and 53 percent in 2023. Consumers estimate that they are asked to tip for different services at various establishments ten times a month, on average, a key reason why 43 percent say they are tipping less this year.
This is according to an annual study of 1,000 U.S. consumers conducted in September 2025 by Popmenu, a tech leader that serves more than 10,000 restaurants.
At least once a week, 44 percent of consumers tip at establishments where they don’t think it’s customary or warranted. Two-thirds (66 percent) of consumers feel pressure to hand over a tip when digital payment screens suggest gratuity amounts, especially when prompted in front of employees.
That sense of obligation, or guilt tipping, extends to situations where consumer expectations are not met: 64 percent of consumers have tipped a worker even when they received poor service.
Consumers also say they have added gratuities when they felt bad for a worker (52 percent) or didn’t want to look cheap (45 percent).
The study revealed a positive trend in restaurant tipping after declines over the last few years: 45 percent of consumers say they are tipping restaurant servers 20 percent or more, up from 38 percent of consumers last year and inching above a previous high of 43 percent in 2022.
Nearly one in four consumers (23 percent) tip delivery drivers 20 percent or more, up from 19 percent of consumers last year, but still considerably below a previous high of 32 percent in 2022.
The majority of consumers (62 percent) said they would rather pay more for food and beverages to provide higher wages for restaurant workers and eliminate tipping altogether.
While consumers tend to tip more often at full-service restaurants, nearly half (46 percent) tip at coffee shops, 32 percent tip food trucks and 27 percent tip at fast food establishments.
Consumers said that restaurants were the most frequent establishments they tip in (94 percent), followed by hair salons (68 percent), taxis or ride share services (46 percent), grocery delivery (45 percent), hotels (37 percent), spas (25 percent) dog groomers (22 percent) and auto repairs (10 percent).
“Tipflation is taking its toll on consumers who are fed up with feeling pressured to dig deeper into their pockets several times a week, often at places where it may not be customary,” said Brendan Sweeney, CEO and Co-founder of Popmenu.
“While tipping trends are looking better for restaurant workers this year, professions who rely on gratuities to supplement lower-base incomes need to be watchful of a longer-term negative effect on earning potential.”
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