England v Wales sees draught beer sales up 84%

The England vs Wales World Cup game on 29 November saw draught beer and cider sales up by 84% vs the previous four Tuesdays.

According to research by market intelligence business Oxford Partnership, 9.2 million pints were sold across the UK, with the average pub serving 300 pints during the game – 136 more than the average.

Pubs used tactics to drive traffic and spend, such as free food at half time, marquees to increase capacity, holding tables for walk-ins, multiple screens, small bites to upsell drinkers, and promoting premium craft ranges.

Consumers shifted towards premium categories during the game, especially world beer, which was the biggest selling lager category with a 19.6% share of draught lager sales. Core lager came in second, at 18.3%.

The world lager category saw a 181% uplift, while stout saw 106%. Fruit cider was up by 97%, while premium lager was up 99%.