According to new data gathered by Square, a financial services and technology company, Toronto residents are feeling far more generous and are opting to tip more for takeout meals.
Square economist Felipe Chacon told BlogTO that customers started increasing their tips early on in the pandemic. “When lockdown orders started, all tips were for takeout orders and Square saw those tips increase. Tips went from an average of around 16.5% in early March 2020 to 18.9% mid-April,” he said.
He added that over the summer, tips were nearly 20%, but have since fallen to 17 or 18%.
Chacon says the data comes from several hundred businesses in Toronto, and that the median numbers also increased: from approximately 15% in spring of 2020 to 18% after May of the same year.
“The fact that the median tip went up tells me that just people, in general, are tipping more, it’s not just being driven by high tippers,” he said.
