How low can they go?

With the off-trade unleashing its crazy Christmas prices, Adam Withrington and Daniel Pearce decided to compare and contrast these with the on-trade.

The tinsel and the lights are up, those god-awful life-size plastic Santas decorate the walkways of every shopping centre and the festive music blares from every shop door-way. It's that time of year again, when we moan about how Christmas is being advertised even before we hit December.

But the fact is that the retailers want to suck us all in - with cheap deals and special promotions.

And nowhere is this more apparent than in the off-trade alcohol market. Supermarkets across the land are undercutting each other to offer their customers better and better deals. This is particularly the case with lager - in some cases big supermarket chains are giving away boxes of 24 cans for just over 40p per can.

And this is a real bug-bear for publicans. Christmas is a very important time of year for the trade yet how is it supposed to compete against the take-home market when its local Asda is selling 24 cans of Castlemaine XXXX for £10? On top of that, when consumers have had too much to drink and misbehave, it is the pubs that get the blame and not the supermarkets.

Pete Harrison, licensee of the Unicorn in Leek, Staffordshire, says this is just plain unfair. "We just can't live with the supermarkets," he comments. "I saw a programme the other night about 'boozy Britain' where a bunch of young guys went to the supermarket and bought huge amounts of cheap booze to drink before they went out. They were lighting shots in each other's mouths. Tell me of any responsible licensees that allow that."

Just to prove how crazy the price difference becomes at Christmas The Publican decided to do a little experiment. We went to one of our local pubs and bought all we could for £20. We then visited a local supermarket and did the same. While out and about we also spoke to some consumers and got their thoughts on the massive price difference between pubs and supermarkets.

Our conclusions​

So are brewers actually gaining anything from the mass discounting of beer in the off-trade in the run-up to Christmas?

This was hardly a definitive survey - but the reactions of the customers we spoke to was surprising. We expected enthusiasm across the board from consumers for the "generosity" of drinks suppliers and supermarkets. There was actually very little.

Indeed, what seems to be happening is that providing a lot of cheap booze is becoming counterproductive: the lower prices are devaluing the image of the brands in consumers' eyes.

It is a well-worn argument but Stella Artois markets itself as "reassuringly expensive" and in the on-trade it is priced at a premium level. But in the off-trade some supermarkets are almost giving the stuff away and this impacts on the brand's image - Mike Dove, one of the consumers interviewed, even says as much.

The fact is that most consumers are simply not that bothered by price when it comes to visiting pubs - something the British Beer & Pub Association agrees with. "The fact is that price is very low down on people's list of priorities when it comes to going to a pub. People go for the atmosphere you find there as well as being able to have a drink," says BBPA spokeswoman Christine Milburn. Brewers say that the supermarkets totally control the retail price. Supermarkets say brewers are complicit in this arrangement, that they often shoulder some of the discounts and in any case they are offering their customers value for money.

As ridiculous as it sounds lager is treated in supermarkets in exactly the same way as milk and bread are treated - as commodities. And at a time when the medical profession is pointing fingers at the licensed trade, maybe it should look a bit further down the high street at the local supermarket.

As Pete Harrison says: "Binge-drinking is not done in pubs. It is done in these big bar/nightclubs where they charge £20 entry fee for as much as you can drink. And it also happens in the home. The people who sit at home and drink their way through 24 cans of lager a night are the ones who are damaging the NHS. It is the people you can't see."

The photos speak louder than words. The difference was quite staggering - eight pints in the pub, compared to 48 cans of lager from the supermarket. That is ridiculous in anyone's vocabulary. The brands pictured were not specially picked out by us - to be honest we could have used at least three or four other ones. Naturally we understand there is a difference between the on and off-trades - you are paying for the experience in a pub after all. But 48 cans for £20? Do us a favour.

Not impressed...​

Many of the customers we spoke to at the Spreadeagle in Croydon were unimpressed by supermarkets...

• Paul Gates, Croydon:​ "We're occasional drinkers, we are not alcoholics, so we don't have a problem. We're not interested in getting 48 bottles of Budweiser and drinking them all at home. Drinking is a social thing, isn't it?"

Tony Baptista, Orpington (pictured):​ "I go out for a drink at Christmas. I don't drink in my home unless I've got friends around, however much it costs. So whether it's 48 drinks or 100 drinks for £20, I'd still rather go to the pub. Some people can't afford to go to the pub though, so I understand why they stay at home."

Mike Dove, Mitcham:​ "You do see people stocking up in the supermarket but it's a different thing, isn't it? I don't like drinking Stella and all the other lagers anyway. I don't think of Stella as an expensive brand - I see it as a really ordinary brand - because it's so cheap in supermarkets."

Rob Cooper, Bromley:​ "I buy beer in the pub and in the supermarket. I can't watch football in the pub because you can't hear the commentary. I like the offers Sainsbury's do with ales at the moment, but I really don't think I know how much they cost. The price isn't a major factor for me when I'm buying beer."

Tony Bagley, Croydon:​ "I like the range of beers that Fuller's does, and it's just not the same drinking from a can or a bottle. I don't like going to bars either, as the beer isn't the same there either. When I do want to drink at home I'll get cans though, and I do buy the offers sometimes. But they wouldn't stop me from going to the pub."

Miriam Jones, Shirley:​ "I don't go to pubs much any more and yes it is because they are getting quite
expensive. This Christmas I expect to be at home most of the time."

Dave Holt, Orpington (pictured):​ "I'll always buy the good offers in the supermarket - but they don't stop me going out. Drinking at home just isn't the same as drinking in the pub. On Christmas Day I always like to go out to the pub before lunch - it has become a bit of a tradition."

Andrea Ellinas, Croydon:​ "I like being in the pub but I am not going to complain when I see the really low prices in the supermarkets."

Emma Gordon, Croydon:​ "I am not really bothered by the difference in pricing. There is much more atmosphere in a pub. The problem with these low prices in supermarkets is brands often become trendy and so they try and sell as much of it as possib