SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – On top of higher prices we’ve been paying, consumers are now spending more when it comes to leaving a tip.

American International College Economic Professor, John Rogers told 22News that consumers are now tipping between 18% and 20%, and even as high as 30%. It’s a far amount from when traditional tipping was at 15% before the pandemic.

“The difference between a 15 percent and 25 percent tips becomes pretty significant if your talking a big bill at a restaurant, but in most cases I’ve seen its just a level of gratuity,” says Rogers.

Rogers adds that the service sector is being pushed up by wages at 4.6%, creating company profit loss. He says that tipping helps counter-act that. Another reason this increase in tipping may be happening is due to digital kiosk systems giving the option to give tips and pay more.

With companies looking for new ways to earn money, with digital kiosk tipping, the money doesn’t go directly to the interface and instead goes directly to the company’s account. This then leaves the company to determine who that money gets shared with.