June 2025 Volume 8
Methodology
The results from our latest Franchise Growth Confidence Index — BoeFly’s quarterly survey measuring how certain economic conditions and external factors affect franchisors’ growth — were recently published by Franchise Times. Between April 18 and April 29, 2025, we surveyed nearly 700 franchisor executives to determine if there were any significant changes in franchisor sentiment regarding domestic franchise growth. Participants rated their confidence on a scale of 1 (not confident) to 7 (completely confident) about whether they expect their brand to achieve growth targets this year. Additionally, respondents answered four supplementary questions designed to assess the impact of several conditions on their confidence level.
Results
This quarter, confidence declined notably from the previous quarter, with only 42.9% of franchisors expressing some level of confidence in meeting their growth targets — down from 72.7% in Q1 2025. Additional insights include:
- 32.1% of franchisors reported being not very confident or not confident at all, reflecting a growing sense of caution amid ongoing economic uncertainty.
- Interest rates continue to shape development outlooks, though pressure appears to be easing with 60.7% of respondents agreeing that interest rates are negatively impacting growth plans, a decrease from 75.8% last quarter.
- Inflation remains a concern; however, sentiment has slightly improved with 60.7% agreeing that inflation is negatively affecting franchise growth, compared to 75.8% in Q1.
- Two new questions were added to this survey around the current market volatility and recent trade policy changes.
- 60.7% of franchisors said that market volatility from January through April 2025 has negatively impacted their ability to achieve sales growth.
- 53.6% agreed that recent trade policy changes, including new tariffs, have hindered their brand’s ability to achieve 2025 development goals.
