Benchmarks and Trends compares your sales to nearby businesses within the Lightspeed network that operate similarly to yours. We determine similarity by using operational data and identifying patterns in areas such as average order size, service style, and turn time. Use this page to make informed decisions about pricing and plan for the future.

Accessing Benchmarks and Trends

To access Benchmarks and Trends, you will need to have access to Advanced Insights. For customers in Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, Advanced Insights is only available in the Pro bundle. For all other customers, contact your Sales Account Manager to sign up.

Access Benchmarks and Trends from the navigation bar in the Back Office.

1. Log in to the Back Office with your Lightspeed credentials.
2. Click Benchmarks & Trends on the navigation bar.

Understanding Benchmarks and Trends

The Gross sales performance chart compares your actual daily sales to your typical sales over the previous four weeks. You can also view how the market performed during the same period.

The Food & beverages split highlights how your sales mix and pricing compare to the market.

The Sales metrics section displays an overview of your most important Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for a given day, compared to the market. Metrics include a comparison chart of hourly activity, average order amount, and staff productivity.

Gross sales performance chart

Use this section to view a summary of key highlights over the last four weeks. This summary includes the percentage of days you've performed better than the market, your business's performance for yesterday relative to your typical sales on the same day of the week, and your market's performance for yesterday relative to your market's typical sales on the same day of the week.

The Gross sales performance chart displays your sales from the past four weeks. Use this chart to compare your sales within a given day (actual sales) to your average sales on that same day in the previous four-week period.

Your baseline is shown as a percentage difference between actual sales and average sales. This baseline is calculated based on the average gross sales over the previous four weeks, for the same day of the week. For example, if viewing sales for a Saturday, the baseline is based on gross sales from the past four Saturdays.

Click the gear icon to toggle layers on the chart.

Your gross sales: Displays your gross sales as an orange line on the chart.

Market average (gross): Displays the market's average gross sales as a blue line on the chart.

Market range: Displays the maximum and minimum gross sales for the market, excluding your sales.

Gross performance: Displays your performance throughout the chosen date range based on your gross sales versus the market's gross average.

Performance outliers: Highlights your best and worst day as compared to the market. For example, if you and the market both have low sales on a particular day, this isn't considered your worst day. Instead, your worst day is a day where you have low sales, but the market performs relatively well.

The boxes below the chart display information on your best and worst day as compared to the market. This information can also be displayed as markers on the graph by clicking the gear icon and checking off Performance outliers.

Hover over a point on the graph to view a summary of your gross sales, the market’s average gross sales, and the market’s gross sales range for that specific day. This information can also be viewed in table form for all days from the past four weeks by clicking the right-facing arrow to access the graph's drilldown view.

Food & beverages split

Use the Food & beverages split chart to view a summary of your food sales and beverage sales over the previous 7 days, as compared to the food and beverage sales of the market over the same time period. This summary will allow for a better understanding of where your revenue comes from, and how your pricing strategy compares to that of your competitors.

This chart accounts only for food and beverage items and does not include other items, such as merchandise.

Hover over a point on the graph to view a summary of your business’s sales distribution by both food and beverage items, compared to the market’s, on any given day.

Sales metrics

Use the Sales metrics to view KPIs for any individual day of business and compare that day to the same day in the market.

The Hourly Activity chart displays your business’s hourly traffic compared to the market’s hourly traffic. The activity is shown as a percentage of your busiest hour of the week. For example, if you're busiest at 7 PM on Saturday, that hourly traffic becomes your baseline of 100%. Hourly traffic is then represented as compared to that baseline: if you have half as many people at 8 PM on Monday as you did at 7 PM on Saturday, your hourly traffic will display as 50%. The market’s hourly traffic is compared to the market’s baseline, which is their busiest hour of the week.

Hover over a bar on the graph to view more detailed information for a specific hour and compare your activity and the market's activity to your individual baselines.

Use the breakdown sections to view more detailed information, including Sales per cover, Table turn time, and Sales per labor hour. Each box shows where your business sits relative to your market on a given day, determined by the selected date in the date picker. To view a more comprehensive breakdown, click the right-facing arrow on the box.

Filter information in the comprehensive breakdown sections by choosing date ranges from the dropdown. Each comprehensive breakdown contains a chart comparing that metric to the market average, a box displaying information on your best and worst days as compared to the market, and a table displaying the percentage differential between that parameter and the market's.

Order amount: Your average order total compared to the average order total of the market.

Sales per cover: Your average sales per cover compared to the average sales per cover of the market.

Sales per labor hour: Your average net sales divided by the number of hours your employees were clocked in to the POS, compared to the same information from the market.

Shift duration: The average time between your employees' clock-in and clock-out times, compared to the average time of the market.

Tip percentage: Your average tip percentage from the previous day compared to the average tip percentage of the market.

Table turn time: The average length of time between tables being opened and closed at your business, compared to the average length of time of the market.

Leverage these insights to help improve your business and pinpoint areas you can change to compete better with the market around you.

What's next?