Close to two in three British adults believe their local pub is either fairly or very important as an asset to their community, and only one in seven felt their local pub should do more to contribute to their local community.
However, the report is not without its cautionary messages. It also identified a shift in what consumers want from a community pub. A quarter of adults now think pubs should
provide a ‘third space’, a place away from home or the workplace where Britain’s increasingly mobile workforce can plug in their laptops and get to work. So far, this potentially lucrative market has been dominated by coffee shops.
The survey findings suggest that community pubs need to evolve and adapt to demand by providing free, reliable Wi-Fi, plenty of charging sockets and an improved range of soft drinks.
Opportunity for pubs
Paul Flatters, chief executive of Trajectory Partnership, which runs the Leisure Spend Tracker with pubco Greene King, recognised the opportunity this demand gives pubs. “Consumers want to be able to work from pubs using free Wi-Fi so this is a great chance for pubs to compete with coffee shops for the eating and drinking-out pound. As some coffee shops move onto traditional pub turf by adding alcohol to their offer, so the pub can fight back by attracting the ‘Wi-Fi worker’ more stereotypically associated with the coffee shop.”
Many licensees are already up for the challenge of taking back some of the trade they have lost to coffee shops. On Twitter, the team at the Green Man in Putney, west London, said: “We think it’s important for people to stay connected in this day and age. How can you havea social environment if you don’t provide facilities for people to stay connected?”
Michael Dearing from the British Lion in Devizes, Wiltshire, added: “It’s 2015 — surely free Wi-Fi is a basic for any hostelry.” The survey chimes with findings from the UK Pub Market Report, produced by Publican’s Morning Advertiser’s sister brand M&C Allegra Foodservice, which predicts future pub market growth will come as pubs “reinvent their mojo” and
meet the needs of a wider range of customers.
It found consumer “participation” in the pub market is increasing and performing well in comparison to other eating-out markets, such as independent and chain restaurants. Pubs are also in the sweet spot when it comes to attracting customers of different ages, and reclaiming that third space.
The Leisure Spend Tracker found that those aged 18 to 24 were more likely to associate little or no importance to the pub because they have had less time to develop an affinity with the pub and, in general, are less involved with the community. Luring them away from chain coffee shops and back to community pubs would help them build a lasting affinity with their local.
To really attract the consumer market targeted by Costa or Starbucks, licensees also need to make sure their pub interior is light and welcoming, and that there is good food served consistently throughout the day.
However, while recognising the importance of internet access for consumers, some licensees pointed out the difficulties for rural community pubs. Ray Thompson, who
runs the Wrygarth Inn, at Great Hatfield, near Hull, told the PMA: “When we first started offering W-Fi it was a unique selling point that no other pubs in the area were doing.
“Everyone should be offering this service now. It has increased our trade, especially in the summer. However, we’re in a no-win situation. Because we’re rural, the service is poor. Even building a website is very difficult in an area where the internet keeps collapsing."