These signs point to a new normal for Americans' post-pandemic leisure spending, which has stayed resilient despite the higher costs of going out. In 2023, 1.88% of the food and drink transactions Square processed took place between 11 a.m. and noon on Saturdays, up from 1.60% in 2019. Nowhere was the shift toward evening and weekend spending starker than in Boston, one of 23 major cities Square analyzed. There, a 10.1% decline in weekday lunch transactions was more than offset by 10.3% and 1.6% increases in weekend and happy hour transactions, respectively. "I don't really prioritize drinking during the weekdays," Louie said, and his weekend leisure spending "is quite inconsistent."

---

Persons: That's, Ara Kharazian, Brunch, Kharazian, Sara Senatore, AJ Kurban, Kurban, it's, Soojin Lee, Cornell University's Nolan, Young, They're, Senatore, I'm, Nicholas Louie, Louie Organizations: University of Toronto, ARA, Bank of America, Cornell University's, Cornell University's Nolan School of Hotel Administration, Covid Locations: U.S, workdays, Boston, Brooklyn, Manhattan, York