The latest Greene King Leisure Spend Tracker has reported Eating Out spend in November of £76, 4% up on the same month last year. Family households drove the growth, although Brits across all regions increased spend on going out for meals.
However, total leisure spend was down 8% versus last year, due to a 20% decline in spend on Other Leisure, which includes theatre-going, live events and gym membership.
Key Highlights
- In November, Eating Out again saw year-on-year growth with the average household increasing spend by £3 (4%) to £76.
- Households with kids led the increase with spend up £14 (22%) year-on-year.
- In contrast, the average British household spent a total of £193 on leisure, a decrease of £16 (8%) year-on-year, although spend was up 3% compared to October.
- Other Leisure spend was the main cause of total leisure spend decline, down £19 (20%) against November last year.
- Drinking Out spend was flat compared to last year, although it was 4% higher in November than in October.
- A special Christmas survey revealed that the pub is still the most popular place to celebrate Christmas Eve outside of the family home.
Steve Jebson, Greene King’s commercial director, said: “The trend for Eating Out has, once again, improved this month, indicating that this is fast becoming an established staple of everyday family life. This month, Eating Out benefitted from visitors to retail parks, particularly during last month’s ‘Black Friday’ week, when shoppers spent their leisure time looking for discounts on Christmas presents.”
Drinking Out spend was almost identical to November last year, a sign of resilience following three consecutive months of year-on-year decline.
Steve added: “It will be interesting to see how leisure spend in all categories fares over December, in the lead up to Christmas. Eating Out and Drinking Out should benefit from the festive parties and celebrations, while Other Leisure may see a boost as the pantomime season gets underway and parents look to occupy the kids while on school holidays.”
Special Christmas Report
Greene King asked households where they plan to spend time on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day this year. The report found that on Christmas Eve the pub is still the most popular place to go outside the family home, with more than one in 10 people planning a trip to their local this year. On Christmas Day, approximately 2.9m Brits intend to go to the pub, with households in the North East twice as likely to go than the GB average. Steve said: “Pubs are still very much at the heart of the community, especially when it comes to a special event like Christmas.”
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