A study into the late night economy has found spending on pre-drinks, transport, entry fees and drinks in club venues have all increased, while expenditure on food has decreased.
Deltic’s Late Night Index, which surveyed 2,444 people and covers the February-April 2017, found Brits spend £55.56 on an average late night out - up 6.3% (£3.30) on the previous quarter.
The average night out lasted 4 hours 49 minutes - a 28 minute increase on the last quarter.
Consumers spent an average of £9.78 on pre drinks, £14.00 on food, £8.18 on transport, £6.28 on entry fee and £17.32 on drinks in the venue on a late night out
The 18-21 age group spent the most on pre-drinks at £10.57 - an increase of 7.4% compared to the previous quarter.
Jason Thorndycraft, operations director at Deltic, told MCA: “The late night economy has been working very hard on the experience of the customer, and that’s undoubtedly what our customers are looking for. They’re looking for new and memorable experiences
“The late night economy is very good at offering unique experiences that people are happy to come out for.
“In difficult times, people want to get out and enjoy themselves. That’s our competitive edge.”
Pubs remain the most popular late night activity for all ages, with just under a quarter (24.2%) of respondents spending the most money in pubs each month, with the exception of 18-21 year olds, who spend more money clubs.
For most regions pubs were the most popular late night activity, except Brighton where people are more likely to spend more money on clubbing,
People from Newcastle had the longest nights at 5.33 hours, whereas Leeds had the shortest nights at 4.55 hours.
The frequency of going out was up compared to the last quarter, going from average of 0.89 days a week to 1.26.
Thorndycraft said while the increased spend was not necessarily an indicator of the season, with the previous index covering the busy Christmas and New Year period.
He said the index backed up the widely held view that younger consumers were seeking quality over quality in the drinks choices and night out.
For the first time, the index also focused on the physical and mental wellbeing benefits of nightlife.
It found 35.6% of respondents, and 52.8% of 18-25 year olds, said they felt better about themselves when they have a good, fun late night out.
More than a third of respondents believe that a late night out has a positive impact on their overall mood (35.4%), their mental wellbeing (34.8%) and their relationship with friends (34.0%).
Thorndycraft added: “We know that night time economy is important, and we make an important contribution to the employment.
“But getting to understand the fun side an what we contribute to people’s lives, and taking the pressure off people end offering them an outlet is an important fact that’s often overlooked. This shows just how important it is.
“People are under pressure, and if they didn’t have that relief it would be a real shame. It’s an important thing to recognise and have some date to quantify it as well.
“The industry is sometimes misunderstood and the beauty of the night index is to cut through and offer some true facts rather than outdated opinions.”
