During the COVID-19 pandemic, many people opted for takeout or delivery instead of dining in due to restrictions and safety concerns. This shift has led to a notable increase in productivity within U.S. restaurants, according to research from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Professors Austan Goolsbee and Chad Syverson, along with Booth research professional Joe Tatarka and New York University Ph.D. student Rebecca Goldgof, authored the study. They noted that this represents a significant change for an industry where real labor productivity had remained stagnant for nearly three decades prior to the pandemic.
Initially, COVID-19 had a negative impact on restaurants, with productivity dropping by over 20% in early 2020. However, by early 2021, productivity had increased by 15% compared to pre-pandemic levels. This was evident even when measured as total consumer visits per employee.
The study found that the surge in productivity has continued alongside an increase in take-out customer visits—those spending less than ten minutes at a restaurant. Researchers tracked these trends using data from more than 100,000 fast-food restaurants across the country provided by geospatial data company SafeGraph.
Importantly, the rise in productivity did not result from longer working hours or economies of scale from hiring more workers; average weekly hours worked decreased slightly by January 2025. Instead, shorter dwell times—how long customers spend at an establishment—were identified as a key factor driving productivity gains.
Before the pandemic, about half of customer visits were under ten minutes; this rose to approximately 60% during the pandemic and remained slightly higher thereafter. These brief visits largely replaced those lasting between 21 and 60 minutes.
The researchers propose that shorter dwell times boost efficiency since restaurants don't need to manage table service or cleanup for quick visits. Additionally, online payments and kiosk orders allow staff to concentrate on preparing food rather than attending tables.
"This relationship between shorter dwell times and productivity growth is present in both industry-wide trends and in restaurant-level patterns," they wrote. The team suggests exploring whether similar patterns exist in other service sectors.