The rugby tournament continues to be a shining light for the hospitality sector as sales leapt 29% versus all previous Saturdays and Sundays in 2023 except 4-5 February. Sales were up by about 6% versus the third weekend of Six Nations action in 2022.
Some 27m pints were sold overall with the average pub selling 711 pints of draught beer and cider, which equates to a £2,878 income generator – this was equal to an average of 157 extra pints sold.
Truly heartening
The next thirstiest drinkers were in Wales then England, which saw uplifts of 121 pints and 106 respectively.
Oxford Partnership chief executive Alison Jordan said: “It is truly heartening to see the beleaguered on-trade benefiting from the positive effect of such an exciting Six Nations tournament. Here’s hoping the rest of the matches continue to deliver for pubs.”
The footfall and duration of visits to the on-trade were boosted as well this weekend with the former up 27% and latter rising 28%.
Consumer dwell time increased by 37 minutes on match days with the average being 131 minutes per visitor and 168 minutes when the rugby was being screened.
Weekend’s results
Increased outlet occupancy rates rose by 27 percentage points on match days (79%) against non-rugby outlets (52%).
The results on Saturday saw table-topping Ireland see off a spirited Italy team in Rome 34-20 and England overcame Wales 20-10 in Cardiff. Meanwhile, Scotland went down 32-21 in Paris as France ran out winners.
The next fixtures take place on 11-12 March when Italy host Wales at 2.15pm and France visit England at 4.45pm on the Saturday while Ireland make the trip to Murrayfield to take on Scotland on Sunday at 3pm.
