According to CGA’s Sales Measurement Service, Saturday has become a focal point for pub visits, having picked up 1.6 percentage points of weekly sales share from pre-pandemic levels with average sales up 7% compared to 2019.
Saturday’s growth, though, has come at the expense of Friday, which has seen its share of sales decrease by 1.3 percentage points, reflecting a drop in early evening visits at the end of the working week as more people opt to work from home on a Friday.
Rein in pub visits
CGA by NielsenIQ’s managing director UK and Ireland Jonathan Jones said: “Signs are growing that the cost-of-living crisis is prompting people to reduce their visits to pubs and bars, especially on Fridays, though they continue to make the most of their occasions.”
Furthermore, Sundays have lost 1.2 percentage points of its share of sales, as consumers rein in weekend visits to pubs, bars, and restaurants having become more careful about their spending amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
However, Thursdays have become a more popular time for post-work visits to the on premise as many workers narrow their days in the office to midweek, according to CGA, with average sales up 6% (1.5 percentage points) vs pre-pandemic with Wednesdays also having seen a moderate increase of 0.3 percentage points.
New trends
These new trends have been even more apparent in the capital, with Saturday’s having seen a 2.7 percentage point increase in share of sales, accounting for more than a quarter (25.2%) of all weekly sales in London, while Fridays have lost 3.2 percentage points, which was previously the most popular night for the on trade, now accounting for 19.8% of weekly sales.
Consumer drinking patterns have also been impacted by hybrid working and the cost-of-living crisis, with spirits seeing sales steer away from Friday (down 2.9 percentage points) towards Thursday and Saturday (both up 1.3 percentage points).
Jones added: “Fingers are crossed for a sustained period of warm weather to tempt people out of their homes and kickstart summer sales.”
