Here’s how to handle chips by generation
From Gen Z to baby boomers, which generation is the most stingy when it comes to tipping?
Has tipping gotten out of hand?
A new survey by Popmenu found that more than three in four people, or 78%, believe tipping habits have become ridiculous. 44% say they are tipping less this year than last year.
Consumers aren’t shy about expressing their tipping fatigue online and on social media sites.
One Reddit user said of tip fatigue: “I can’t enjoy my weekend unless I get asked for a tip at least five times for nothing.” “The anxiety that comes from the false pressure to tip on every bill is ridiculous.”
“What did I do to be asked for a tip everywhere I go?” one TikTok user asked, complaining that someone taking his order was asking for a tip.
“There weren’t many services going on, just the basics,” she said.
Tip requests are everywhere
“Tipping has probably become ubiquitous and now we feel like we’re expected to tip for everything all the time, even if it’s customary or something that feels out of the ordinary,” Pop Menu CEO Brendan Sweeney told USA TODAY.
Sweeney said restaurant tech company Pop Menu has been surveying customers about tipping for more than five years.
Mr Sweeney said tipping really took off during the Covid-19 lockdown era and after the hospitality industry took a hit and consumers started leaving tips on takeaways and tipping for a “warm and fuzzy” feeling.
“But then I think we got to a situation where we said, ‘Wait, is this still an emergency? Are we still helping people? At the same time, people are really feeling the pinch of inflation,'” he said.
Sweeney also said more and more businesses’ digital register systems have chip screens built into the software.
Still, Sweeney said tipping with guilt, or feeling guilty about leaving a tip to avoid embarrassment, is a problem.
When asked for a tip on a digital screen, 59% of respondents said they felt compelled to leave a tip. However, this is down from 66% in September 2025. The percentage of people who say they tip weekly in places where tips aren’t guaranteed also fell from 44% to 39%. Over the past 12 months, we estimate that consumers have spent about $130 on tips they don’t think they need, down from $150 when a similar question was asked in September 2025.
66% of respondents said they have tipped an employee who provided poor service. However, 42% of people said they are now comfortable with skipping tips for certain services.
How much do people tip?
The percentage of consumers who tip restaurant servers and delivery workers 20% or more has decreased over the past six months.
- 41% of consumers tip restaurant servers 20% or more, down from 45% in September 2025. 29% of consumers say they tip their servers 15%, the same as in September 2025.
- More than 20% of restaurants tip their delivery drivers at 15%, down from 23% in September 2025.
- 27% tip delivery drivers and 15% in September 2025.
Tipping in places other than restaurants has also changed.
- 39% of consumers tip at coffee shops, down from 46% in September 2025.
- Tipping at food trucks was 27%, down from 32% in September 2025.
- Tipping at fast food restaurants is now 22%, down from 27% in September 2025.
- Apart from the survey, Popmenu also tracked tips for online orders received through its platform. Digital chip pick-up orders decreased from 78% in 2022 to 62% in 2026.
Three in four consumers (74%) say they have noticed restaurants increasing recommended minimum tips on digital screens. Here’s what people said when they saw that screen:
- 36% usually leave a custom tip
- 17% chose the lowest tip offered
- 32% choose mid-tier chips
- 7% choose the highest tip
- 9% usually don’t tip
Consumers surveyed said they were willing to pay more in lieu of tips. 56% of consumers are willing to pay more for food and drinks to provide higher wages to employees and eliminate tips, if given the choice.
Betty Lin-Fisher is a consumer reporter for USA TODAY. Contact her at blinfisher@USATODAY.com or follow her at @blinfisher on X, Facebook and Instagram and @blinfisher.bsky.social on Bluesky.. Sign up for our free The Daily Money newsletter, breaking down complex consumer and financial news. Subscribe here.
