Shares of restaurant companies are sliding, as the sector reported slower traffic in August.
Monthly visits to restaurants declined 2.4% compared with last August, a bigger dip than the prior two months, according to a report from the foot traffic data platform Placer.AI. Overall dining visits have been on a decline since March, but traffic rates had improved in both June and July.
Shares of Wingstop slid 11% on Tuesday, with Cava down 9% and Cheesecake Factory 8% lower. Shake Shack, Bloomin' Brands and Chipotle Mexican Grill all slipped as well.
August was a softer month for both restaurant and retail traffic partly because Labor Day fell on Sept. 1 last year, putting the first part of the busy holiday weekend in August.
Macroeconomic conditions are another part of the story, according to the Placer.AI report. The national average gas price stayed above $4 a gallon throughout August, weighing on consumer sentiment and discretionary budgets.
While retail had some pockets of strength in certain parts of the U.S., dining traffic was down across the board. Visits fell in nearly every state, according to the report. The best performing state was California, where traffic increased 0.3% from the prior year.