---
title: "Americans holding on to extra savings overall, but spending more at franchise restaurants"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/a8db60e0-5822-420d-af67-99d3ed7e9197
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/americans-holding-on-to-extra-savings-overall-but-spending-more-at-franchise-restaurants-1175
category: "Restaurants"
industry: "Restaurants"
topics: ["Finance & M&A"]
published: 2015-02-19T17:12:03.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T04:16:27.934Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/fa6b99cdca76c7d7f436004e5d96128a6873.jpg
---

# Americans holding on to extra savings overall, but spending more at franchise restaurants

**TL;DR:** Food-service sales, including those at franchise restaurants, experienced a monthly increase of 0.8 percent in January, with an 11.3 percent increase from the same time last year. Low gas prices are giving Americans extra savings, which they are willing to spend at restaurants.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2015-02-19. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/americans-holding-on-to-extra-savings-overall-but-spending-more-at-franchise-restaurants-1175).*

## Story

Low gas prices are giving Americans a boost to their bank accounts, but that doesn't mean consumers are willing to spend their extra savings willy-nilly.

Fortunately for restaurant owners, food is one area where consumers aren't shy about making purchases

Food-services sales, such as those at Back Yard Burgers chains across the country, experienced a monthly increase of 0.8 percent during January, as well as 11.3 percent from the same time last year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

This is in comparison to a relatively paltry 3.3 percent annual increase in sales across all retailers.

Citing data from AAA, The Wall Street Journal reported that as of Thursday, Feb. 12, U.S. gas prices had fallen to an average of $2.23 a gallon, down from $3.32 during the previous year. If this trend continues, it could result in further sales boosts for restaurant chains throughout the U.S.

Even if many consumers are wary of spending too freely at most retailers, sometimes there's just no arguing with the taste of a juicy cheeseburger.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Restaurants (sector)
- consumer spending (topic)
- gas prices (topic)
- AAA (company)
- US Department of Commerce (regulator)
- franchise restaurants (topic)
- foodservice sales (topic)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/americans-holding-on-to-extra-savings-overall-but-spending-more-at-franchise-restaurants-1175). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/a8db60e0-5822-420d-af67-99d3ed7e9197).