Recent insight released by CGA suggested that 100 out-of-home food and drink business leaders believed the virus would have a negative impact on sales.
Also, UKHospitality chief executive Kate Nicholls explained on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme this morning (9 March) that local pubs were faring better than city venues, which had seen a 30% drop in trade in the past week.
Coronavirus and the pub
Yet, in a survey of over 1,700 consumers carried out on behalf of The Morning Advertiser by global intelligence platform Streetbees, just 14% of Brits said that the coronavirus would put them off going to the pub.
Staggeringly, 41% of those asked said, despite some concern about public gatherings, they would visit the pub, with another 40% claiming their decision would depend on how serious the viruses spread becomes. Just 5% of those asked said they didn’t know.
This follows the Government’s decision today to maintain its strategy to ‘contain’ the spread of the virus, rather than escalate its stance to ‘delay’.
If a ‘delay’ strategy is put in place, this could see major public gatherings, including sporting events, being stopped in a bid to slow the spread of the virus and alleviate any additional stress on the NHS.
Impact the pub
A ban on such gatherings could impact the pub, with some speculation that screening sports in the on-trade could be stopped to limit person-to-person contact and, therefore, the likelihood of more infections.
The number of those reported to have the virus remains low, however, cases have increased in recent days, and at the time of reporting, the number of coronavirus cases known in the UK jumped in the past 24 hours by 48 to 321, with four people known to have died from it.
For more on the spread of the coronavirus and how to protect your business, see: