After the initial sales bounce that followed the government-mandated lockdowns during the early weeks of the coronavirus outbreak, consumer spending in restaurants slowed during the peak summer months. Eating and drinking places posted sales of $54.6 billion on a seasonally-adjusted basis in August, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
While the sales gains in July (4.1%) and August (4.7%) continued to point the trendline in a positive direction, they were well below the robust growth registered in May (31.3%) and June (27.2%). As a result, total sales in August were still nearly $11 billion lower than the pre-coronavirus levels posted in January and February.