The size of tips left by diners in American restaurants has shrunk in recent years.

Nationwide, the overall tipping average for restaurants it reached 18.8% in the third quarter of 2024, Toast data based on US restaurants using its systems showed.

While that rate was flat from the previous quarter, it has declined from 19% in the third quarter of 2022 and 19.2% in the same period of 2021, according to the data.

Specifically, for full-service restaurants, the average tipping rate was 19.3%, down from the 19.6% rate seen in the third quarter of 2022 and the 19.8% rate seen in the year above, by Toast.

An unrecognizable waitress counts tips or a customer’s payment while working in a restaurant. The IRS issued a notice on Monday regarding a proposed tip reporting program. (iStock/iStock)

The percentage that people usually with a tip in visiting quick service restaurants in the United States has also experienced a decline. It stood at 15.9% in the third quarter of 2024, marking a decline from 16.1% in the third quarter over the previous two years and 16.5% in the third quarter of 2021.

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Tipping rates for both types of restaurants in the third quarter of 2024 also fell compared to the same period before COVID-18 and 2019, Toast data showed.

Some experts attributed these declines in average restaurant tipping rates, previously reported by the Wall Street Journal, to “tipping fatigue.”

“Consumers have reached something called ‘peak fatigue,'” Ted Jenkin, co-founder of oXYGen Financial, told FOX Business. “Americans want to tip well, but they don’t want to be told what to tip while someone watches them tip. It’s this return pressure from automated systems that is creating this counterculture of people who want tip less.”

Meanwhile, Bankrate senior industry analyst Ted Rossman said he has seen a “significant decline” in the frequency of rollovers “over the last few years.”

In a June 2024 survey by Bankrate, 67% of American adults who ate at sit-down restaurants said they always tip their servers, which represents a drop of 8 percentage points from three years ago.

This phenomenon has not been exclusive to restaurants, according to Rossman.

STATES WHERE PEOPLE GIVE THE GREATEST TIPS

The share of American adults who tip each time hairdressers, food delivery people, bartenders and some other service workers declined between 2021 and 2024, the Bankrate survey showed.

For baristas, the share went from 23% in 2021 to 20% last year. According to the survey, 41% “always” tipped their taxi or rideshare drivers in 2024, down from 48% in 2021. It also found that the proportion of people who styled their hair every time it dropped 8 percentage points over the same period.

Rossman pointed out inflation hitting US portfolios as the “main explanation”, but noted that other things have also been at play, causing “peak fatigue”.

“A lot of people are upset with the tipping culture,” he said, adding that 59 percent of American adults have “at least one negative view” of tipping.

“There’s been a lot of tipping in recent years. As in, they’re being asked to tip in previously unconventional settings,” Rossman said. “Technology has made it possible, too. Apps and payment screens ask for tips in a more obvious way than an old-fashioned tip jar. You no longer have to go out of your way to put bills or coins in a cup. Now. you have of doing your best not to tip, hitting zero on a pre-entered tip screen to the possible discomfort of the cashier and other customers looking at you.”

A tip jar on a coffee shop counter. (iStock/iStock)

The coronavirus pandemic also affected the tilt, according to Bankrate’s senior industry analyst.

It “briefly” led to a “wave of appreciation for service workers” and contributed to “the tipping that hasn’t gone away,” he said.

Rossman told FOX Business that companies are also “wary of raising prices more than they already have, so they look to tipping as a hidden surcharge to funnel more money to their workers without having to foot the bill.”

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In restaurants, gratuities and non-optional service charges have increased more in recent years, The Wall Street Journal informed This, according to the outlet, has prompted small tips from diners, and also high menu prices.

Cafeteria receipt and cash on cafeteria table. (iStock/iStock)

A SpotOn survey released in May indicated that restaurant industry workers’ tipping expectations varied, with more than a third of respondents reporting that 15% tips were the “minimum percentage” they expected. according to the service”. About 28% expected patrons to give them 14%, while 11% were looking for 20% and 8% wanted 18%, it found.