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Greene King Leisure Tracker June 2016

Come rain or sun, this month’s Greene King Leisure Spend Tracker reveals that British consumers have specific eating and drinking preferences during the summer months. Just over half of those surveyed admit that they adapt their leisure habits from June to August in order to make the most of the British summer.

This is particularly applicable to young people with 77% of those between the ages of 18 to 24 suggesting they will change their behaviour to prioritise activities like eating and drinking outdoors. Around half of the same demographic group confirm they will actively reduce the number of indoor leisure pursuits they undertake during the summer, preferring instead to socialise out of home.

Apart from the better weather drawing consumers to the quintessential British beer garden, this month’s Leisure Spend Tracker also shows that the Rio Olympic Games in August may provide a small boost to pub owners. Despite not being a sporting event in the ilk of a European Championship or a Six Nations tournament, the data reveals that 35% of all Brits intend to watch some of the event from a pub or a bar.

However, somewhat surprisingly, the most popular event is not the 100m final but the opening ceremony, with a third more UK adults responding that they would watch the opening ceremony than the sprint final in the pub.

Drinking out was down 1% compared to May 2016 and showed a 2% decrease  year on year whereas eating out was showing a small amount of growth in both these areas.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

  • In June, the average British household spent £208 on out of home leisure, a 3% decrease year-on-year and a 1% increase month-on-month.
  • Eating Out was the only area to continue to increase with a 4% rise year-on-year and a 3% increase month-on-month. This was supported by households in London and the South East which increased spending by 3% as well as households in the Rest of GB which increased spending by 4%. This consistency across Britain hints at the universal nature of the growth of Eating Out over the last 12 months.
  • Any potentially substantial increase in leisure spending around the European Championships has not been felt across the leisure sector as a whole this month
  • Consumers are changing their leisure habits over the summer months with 60% of households with kids, 77% of 18 to 24 year olds and 70% of 25 to 34 year olds all making different choices between June and August than the rest of the year.

Commenting on this month’s Leisure Spend Tracker, Rob Rees, Greene King group marketing director said: “This month’s tracker has shown that pub goers want to make the most of the British summertime and the results give our industry a key understanding that outdoor spaces are coveted by the consumer. At Greene King, we seek to provide outside spaces, summer menus and full coverage of international sporting events to ensure that we can deliver the most quintessentially British summer atmosphere possible in our pubs.

“Looking at our monthly report on leisure spending, this month’s figures show the resilience of the leisure sector in uncertain times. Although overall spend is marginally down on this time last year, Eating Out continues its excellent recent performance, being 4% up on June 2015 and 3% up on last month.”

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