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Insight consultancy KAM have partnered with the BII (British Institute of Innkeeping) to launch the ultimate Pub Roadmap: a robust and practical toolkit for the evolving pub industry.
The report states that pubs still command the biggest share of consumer spend (29%) compared with other hospitality sectors such as fast food (16%), delivery (14%) or casual dining (5%) according to data from Hospitality Data Insights (HDI).
Share of consumer spend across core hospitality channels has remained relatively flat year-on-year, with a slight migration from pubs, casual dining and other restaurants, towards fast-food/takeaway and coffee & sandwich shops. KAM points to the impact of the cost-of-living crisis being potentially at play here with people changing how they’re spending their money.
The pub customer base is levelling out
The research also found that the pub landscape is levelling out as the wider population re-engages with their locals. Overall, the pub customer base had shifted slightly in recent years; post pandemic, it was the younger people and men who were the quickest back into the on trade, but the older age groups are now accounting for a bigger proportion of spend. The 18–34-year-old age group still makes up the highest share of spend in UK pubs and bars (28%) and are the age group who visit most frequently.
Blake Gladman, Strategy & Insight Director, KAM: “Both the share of spend and visit frequency figures for this year highlight a levelling out of consumer behaviour and potentially an end to the chaos experienced over the last few years for the industry. This more stable customer base should give us confidence that the shape of the market we have now IS the shape of the market. Therefore, it represents a point in time from where the industry can use as the platform from which to grow. We’ve launched The Pub Roadmap to provide critical knowledge and advice so venues can continue to improve the offer and service that the great British pub can provide.”
Steve Alton, CEO BII: “Proudly partnering with the leading industry insight and research consultancy, KAM, we wanted to provide an essential toolkit, based on real data from our sector to allow operators to assess their businesses against the opportunities available to them. Consumer’s needs have significantly evolved over recent years, starting with the pandemic and changing habits, through to the current cost of living crisis, and we must adapt our offer accordingly.”
