New research commissioned by cocktail bar Manahatta has found that 89% of UK adults surveyed plan their social activities in advance rather than making spontaneous arrangements.
The research, conducted among UK adults aged between 18 and 45, found that 40% cited cost and the need to budget as their main reason for planning ahead.
More than half of respondents, 57%, said they would turn down an invitation from a friend to go out that evening if given no advance notice.
Among those who would decline, 29% said they would prefer to stay on the sofa or in bed rather than go out with friends.
Only 7% of respondents said they arrange a night out with friends on the same day, compared with 34% who plan a week or more in advance.
The average lead time for planning a night out was almost eight days.
A quarter of respondents said they had done something spontaneous during the previous week, while 36% reported doing so only once during the previous month.
Cost and the requirement to make advance bookings or reservations emerged as two of the main barriers to spontaneous socialising.
Laura Lewis, Marketing Director at Manahatta, said: “Spontaneity shouldn’t be a luxury. Our research shows that the vast majority of us want to say yes to last-minute invites, we’re just held back by cost, or the fact that everything needs advance booking. We wanted to give people a reason, and an easy way, to say yes more often.”
Manahatta operates its venues across different parts of the day, including lunch, after-work drinks and late-night trading, with walk-in customers forming part of its offer.
Laura Lewis, added, “We want Manahatta to be the answer whenever someone plan asks, ‘shall we?’ whether it’s joining us at lunchtime for our Manahatta Meal Deal, after work for Happy Hour, or last thing at night for something from our extensive cocktail list. There’s no need to make a booking or spend time worrying what to wear, the only planning you need to do is walking through the door.”
The research comes as hospitality operators continue to respond to changing consumer spending and socialising habits, including demand for value, flexibility and different occasions throughout the day.
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