Tipping Has Become ‘Ridiculous,’ 78% of Americans Say
A growing backlash against tipping culture in the United States has reached a tipping point, with 78% of consumers saying gratuity practices “have become ridiculous,” according to a March 2026 survey of 1,000 U.S. adults by Popmenu, a restaurant technology platform. The survey found that 74% of consumers have noticed restaurants raising the minimum suggested tip amounts on digital payment screens, and 44% report tipping less in 2026 than they did the year before.
The Digital Tipping Revolution
The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically accelerated the adoption of contactless payment systems from companies like Square, Toast, and Clover. These point-of-sale systems now commonly feature tip prompts with default options starting at 20%, 22%, or even 25% — and they have spread well beyond full-service restaurants to coffee shops, fast-casual eateries, food trucks, and retail settings where tipping was never customary.
Unlike traditional tipping, where customers discreetly leave cash on a table, digital prompts create a public, high-pressure moment where customers must actively decline a tip in front of an employee. This social awkwardness is a key driver of frustration. According to Fox News, 59% of consumers still feel compelled to tip when faced with these prompts — though that figure is down from 66% six months earlier, suggesting consumers are gradually overcoming the social pressure.
Restaurant Owners Speak Out
Even those inside the industry are feeling the strain. Derek Simms, CEO of Texas-based Simms Hospitality Group, which operates eight restaurants in the Dallas area, told Fox News Digital that tipping screens create “a very awkward moment” — even for someone in the business.
“I don’t want to lose a customer over some weird manipulation,” Simms said.
Vicki Parmelee, owner of Jumby Bay Island Grill in Jupiter, Florida, drew a sharp distinction between full-service dining and counter service. “It is pretty annoying to go up to a service counter and order a coffee and then have them turn around a terminal and expect a tip just for handing you a coffee,” she said.
Parmelee emphasized that tipping should remain tied to service quality. “I tell my staff that a tip is always something that’s earned. It’s not something they should ever expect.”
Where Consumers Are Cutting Back
The survey, which Restaurant Dive reported on in April, identified the areas where consumers are reducing tips most sharply in 2026. Restaurants lead the list at 35%, followed by grocery delivery (24%), hotel housekeeping and bellhop services (19%), taxi and ride services (19%), auto repair (19%), and hair salons and barbers (18%).
The decline is especially pronounced in limited-service settings. Coffee shop tipping dropped from 46% to 39% in just six months, while food truck tipping fell from 32% to 27%. Fast food restaurants saw a similar decline, from 27% to 22%.
Tipping at Full-Service Restaurants Holds Steadier
Despite the broader backlash, consumers continue to tip at traditional full-service restaurants at relatively high levels. A combined 70% of consumers still tip restaurant servers at least 15%, according to the Popmenu data. However, the percentage tipping 20% or higher has declined from 45% in September 2025 to 41% in March 2026.
The decline is steeper for delivery drivers. The share of consumers tipping delivery drivers 20% or more dropped from 23% to 15% over the same six-month period — a significant decline that directly impacts earnings for workers who often rely on gratuities.
The Economic Context
Tipping fatigue is inseparable from broader economic pressures. Persistent inflation in the U.S. has squeezed consumer disposable incomes. As McKinsey noted in its January 2026 Restaurant Industry Outlook, “growth is plateauing as persistent inflation, tariffs, and economic uncertainty are forcing diners to rethink the value of every restaurant visit.”
Brendan Sweeney, CEO and co-founder of Popmenu, said the fatigue “is compounded by customers having less disposable income due to inflated costs for food, energy and other necessities. Restaurants and other industries need to work even harder to drive more traffic through their doors and ensure workers earn what they need.”
The Etiquette Perspective
Etiquette expert Thomas P. Farley, known as “Mister Manners,” told Scripps News that while tipping remains essential for certain services — sit-down dining, haircuts, rideshares, and hotel services — it is entirely discretionary in other contexts.
“If you go into a 7-Eleven and you buy a bag of potato chips, and a cashier drags a bag across the scanner, and when you go to pay there’s a tip screen there for you … those are situations where it’s not only discretionary but absolutely not required,” Farley said.
What Comes Next
The survey suggests that 56% of consumers would be willing to pay higher menu prices if it meant eliminating tips and providing higher wages for workers — indicating openness to a European-style service-included model. However, such a shift would require systemic changes to wage laws, restaurant pricing, and deeply ingrained cultural norms.
Meanwhile, consumers are becoming more strategic about their tipping habits. More than a third (36%) now enter custom tip amounts rather than selecting preset options, and 42% say they are becoming more comfortable skipping gratuities in certain situations. The average consumer spent $130 on “unnecessary” tips over the past year, down from $150 six months earlier.
As digital payment screens continue to proliferate and inflation keeps household budgets tight, the tension between consumer frustration and worker reliance on tips shows no signs of easing. For restaurant owners like Derek Simms, the message is clear: businesses that push tips too aggressively risk driving customers away.