GK leisure tracker: London eating out spend falls

The latest Greene King Leisure Spend Tracker shows drinking out was the only category to see both a monthly and year-on-year increase while spending on eating out and other leisure both increased year-on-year but fell compared to September.

Total leisure spending for the month of October was down 1% compared to September but despite this continued decline, year-on-year spending rose by 9% to £205.57 for an average household during October with half-term and the release of James Bond’s Spectre film contributing to uptick in spend.

This broke down to an increase of 11% (£5) on drinking out to £46.12 and 5% rise in eating out to £80.41.

With the Rugby World Cup, half-term and Spectre being released at the cinema households spent more on total leisure however only slight changes were apparent between September and October. 

Families spending increased by 10% during the month compared to September, whilst households without children and those in London and the South East saw more modest increases of £1 (3%). 

Families with children saw spending soar by 23% on other leisure including cinema, theatre and sport visits year on year compared to an increase of less than £1 for households without children.

October 2014 saw a steep fall in household spending on other leisure of £5 (7%) so the relatively modest month-on-month decline of 1% shows a more positive picture for 2015.

Despite England’s early relegation from the World Cup, people drank more during the latter stages of the tournament, with spending on drinking out by all households up by 11-12% year on year.

Year-on-year spending increased across the whole country but fell month-on-month in London and the southeast by 3% (£7) compared to September.

The most pronounced fall was the reduction in spending on eating out in London which fell by £11 compared to a national average of £1 reduction against September.

Household leisure spending rose in both London and the South East as well as elsewhere Britain, average month spend growing by £18 (8%) and £17 (10%) respectively.

Changes in total leisure spending month-on-month were very slight, with the greatest reductions in leisure spending among households in London and the South East where total spend fell £7 (3%) and in families without kids where spending fell £8 (4%).

Consumer confidence is looking up for the Christmas period as 23% of households think they will spend more on eating and drinking out this Christmas compared to last year while on 20% expect to spend less.

Last year only 15% of adults expected to spend more on Christmas than the previous year and 27% expected to spend less than 2013.

This confidence is highest among millennials with 38% of 18-24s and 28% of 25-34s planning to spend more on eating and drinking out over the festive season.