Euros and Father’s Day ‘provided significant boost’

Data from Oxford Partnership showed English pubs saw a rise of 55 extra pints served per pub (up by 20.6% against last year) while in Scotland, licensed venues served 107 more pints.

In Wales where there was no Home Nations team to support, sales didn’t see a similar boost but a decline of 46 pints per pub on Father’s Day.

Overall, the average UK pub served 984 pints of draught beer and cider over the weekend, equating to £4,674.

However, this was down by 1.7% against the same Father’s Day weekend last year yet it was an improvement from the year to date decline of 3.8%.

Drinks sales

Lager and cider sales saw drops with premium lager down 15%, core lager 7.4%, fruit cider declining by 13.7% and apple by 18.2%.

Elsewhere in the drinks categories, stout performed well with a rise of almost a quarter (22.9%) and ale by 18.3%.

Overall footfall dropped by 1.9%, according to Oxford Partnership, which the insight firm put down to decreases in rural and city locations as pubgoers opted to stay closer to home to watch football and celebrate Father’s Day.

Despite this, Sunday did see a 2.5% increase in pub visits, which was largely driven by suburban outlets, which experienced a 3.8% rise in traffic.

But, Friday saw a decline of 2.5% and Saturday fell by 1.8%, indicating that Father’s Day concentrated visits to the one day.

Dwell time

Moreover, dwell time was up by 3.3% with pubgoers staying longer particularly in city centre locations, which saw a 6.6% increase while suburban venues saw a 4.9% rise. The average dwell time grew to 127 minutes per occasion.

Oxford Partnership CEO Alison Jordan said: “The combination of the Euros and Father’s Day demonstrates the significant impact major events can have on the hospitality industry, particularly in terms of driving beer and cider sales.

“While we still see an overall decline in sales compared to the previous year, the reduction in the rate of decline is encouraging.

“The positive trends such as increased dwell times and higher sales during specific events offer a hopeful outlook for the industry as it continues to navigate the challenges of the current economic environment.

“By strategically leveraging major events and understanding consumer behaviour patterns, the hospitality industry can continue to build on these gains.”