Despite the Met Office is predicting unsettled weather for the four-day Easter weekend, the Oxford Partnership are still predicting that the weekend will see the On Trade receiving a much-needed boost to sales – with Friday and Saturday once again likely to be the biggest days of the weekend.
Looking back to last year, Easter Saturday was the biggest day by far for Easter in 2023, and not only did it overtake 2022’s sales but it even surpassed 2019’s, despite the overall weekend being behind 2019 by -5.8%, which was driven predominantly by Sunday’s and Monday’s sales.
Last year (Thursday through to Monday) saw drinkers consume 64.2 million pints across the UK, which was an increase of +5.4% versus 2022. In individual pub terms, it equated to an extra +86 pints sold per pub versus the same period in 2022 meaning additional cash in the till of £349.
Oxford Partnership’s CEO, Alison Jordan, comments: “Easter might be earlier this year, and mixed weather predicted, but we have already seen St Patrick’s weekend overtake the equivalent weekend in 2023 +3.3% and we predict pubs will see similar sales uplifts this weekend with Saturday once again seeing peak sales”.
And Matt Green, Manager of The Murgatroyd Arms in Halifax agreed: “I’m delighted to report The Murg is already fully booked for the Easter weekend as families look to get together and celebrate the first extended break since Christmas. And with the Premier League returning, which includes Man City’s key clash with Arsenal on Sunday, there’s plenty of reasons to be optimistic for a weekend of strong sales.”
Oxford Partnership will be analysing the weekend and providing a full report after the Easter break.
