The Night Index is a new quarterly poll of late-night customers covering pubs, bars, restaurants and nightclubs operating after 6pm.
It shows that the average Brit spends £58 or over on an average night out. Of this, drinks in venues is the largest category (28%) with £16.37 a head spent on average. Food was the next highest category at £15.55 a head, followed by transport (£9.68), pre-drinks (£9.18) and entry fees (£7.70).
Nearly 40% of respondents said they go out on late night at least once a week. While the 18-21-year-old market was unsurprisingly the most likely to go out two to three times a week, every age category stated that a late night was at least a weekly occurrence, including more than a third of over 56-year-olds,
The poll reveals that 88% of respondents stay out for up to six hours and that over a third of 18-21-year-olds do not leave the house until between 10pm and 12am.
Asked for the main reason they go out, 66% said seeing friends was the principal driver. Escaping the stress of day to day life was second at 45% and celebrating an occasion was the third most popular (34%).
Reason for a night out
A quarter of 18-30-year-olds cited their main reason for a night out as dancing and exercising.
The top five ways of choosing a late-night venue was topped by recommendations (58%), followed by friends tagged on Facebook (22%), a Google search (20%), online reviews (18%) and websites (17%).
A regional breakdown showed a wide variance in both spend and habits. Glasgow revellers were shown to be the biggest spenders on drinks in venues – at £18.82 a head, compared to the lowest, Cardiff at £10.94. Customers in Edinburgh spent £11.67 on a night out compared to £5.70 in Plymouth.
In Newcastle, 45% of customers say they go out two to three times a week, compared to Brighton where 50% go out just once a week. On average, people in Bristol and Belfast go out on the most late nights a week, according to the index.
Deltic chief executive Peter Marks told MCA that the research confirmed his first-hand experience of the sector.
He said: “I have been on the streets across the country for 30 years now and I know that there is still a huge demand for people to have a late-night. What this gives us is some hard evidence to back that up.
‘People a great and safe experience’
“What I’m pleased about is that it shows we have been doing things right. We have continued to focus on investing in our clubs to give people a great and safe experience. The fact that so may people rely on word of mouth to choose where they go out supports that strategy.”
On the evolving entertainment strategy for clubs, Marks said: “We invest in the best DJs and bringing in our new head of entertainment, Charlotte Purdy, gives us an extra edge to get the ones who are on the up and are going to be superstars.
“The personal appearances are still a big driver of visits. People like to have their selfies with the soaps stars and the DJs.
“Premiumsation is a trend we’ve been seeing for a long time and there is no sign at all of that abating. Students will always be interested in value and that is a driver in the midweek.”
On the message to local and national authorities from the index, Marks said: “I would hope that they can recognise in this the invaluable role the late-night sector can play. We want to work in partnership with local authorities and make their town centres great, safe places to be, which is surely in everyone’s interest.”
The poll was conducted by Censuswide from a sample of 2,522 adults.