China’s economy continues to decline, with many industries facing a downturn, leading to a lack of market confidence and decreased consumer spending by residents. Recently, Wang Puzhong, the CEO of Meituan’s core local business, mentioned that the average price per customer in dining establishments has dropped to the levels of ten years ago.
During the 8th Restaurant Industry Conference on October 16, Wang Puzhong stated that the current dining industry is facing significant challenges, with the average price per customer in sit-down restaurants nearing that of 2015.
The data he provided indicates that the annual revenue of the dining industry had been steadily increasing until 2019. Starting in 2020, fluctuations began to occur, and in the past two years, there has been a sluggish growth trend. However, the average price per customer in the dining industry showed a noticeable decline starting from 2023, now approaching levels from a decade ago.
Among this year’s new delivery orders, 75% come from the price range below 15 yuan. With a rapid decline in the average price per customer at newly opened stores, the competition within the industry is becoming more intense.
As for the number of stores per thousand people, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen are much higher than Tokyo, New York, and Paris, with Beijing being 2.2 times higher than New York.
According to industry data provided by Meituan, in just the past year, there were 3.88 million new restaurant openings and 3.54 million closures. Calculating based on approximately 9 million existing dining stores nationwide, the replacement rate in the dining industry is close to 40% by 2024.
Moreover, various data indicate that the dining industry is facing challenges on multiple fronts.
Based on data from HongCan Big Data, as of August 2025, the nationwide average dining expenditure per capita has fallen to 36.6 yuan, a 7.7% decrease compared to the same period in 2024. This trend suggests that consumers are reducing the frequency of dining out, posing a challenge of overall per capita spending decline in the dining industry.
Data released by the China Culinary Association shows that the national dining revenue from January to June this year decreased by 3.6% year-on-year, with weakened growth momentum. Combining data and market research, the first half of the year saw a trend in the dining industry of “slowing revenue growth, declining profits, and intensifying competition.”
The China Dining Industry Performance Index for August was 43.25, a decrease of 2.90 compared to the previous month, falling below the neutral level by 6.75. The industry’s overall situation is in a contraction zone.
It is widely believed in the market that the difficulties faced by the dining industry are mainly due to three factors:
Firstly, inadequate consumer confidence. With the fading of the real estate wealth effect, weakening household income, lack of confidence, and downgrading of consumption.
Secondly, intensified competition. The food delivery war, controversies surrounding pre-packaged meals, and five-star hotels resorting to affordable operations have led to fierce competition, exacerbating price competition.
Finally, high and stagnant costs. Rising rental, labor, and food costs continue to squeeze business profits, particularly making it challenging for small and medium-sized businesses.