Drink sales over the festive season declined by 3.6% while food sales increased by 3.6%, according to the latest research by the Association for Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR).
The survey of 31 companies, representing 2467 licensed premises, found that like-for-like alcohol sales for the period were down universally, with local community pubs the worst affected.
Just under a third of groups said they had seen positive growth in liquor sales and the great majority of these companies were those that had an estate with less than 50 outlets.
The poll revealed that companies performed well in terms of food sales, with nearly three quarters of companies reporting growth in this area.
The 27% of respondents that saw food sales drop were predominantly local pubs, which also recorded a decline in alcohol sales.
Nick Bish, chief executive of ALMR, said: “Where companies are experiencing growth this is being reinforced by food sales.
“However, an obvious note of caution here is that this is Christmas trading and therefore a few good parties or one off events do produce a spike in the results.”
While the slow performance in like-for-like sales was blamed on the smoking ban in 38.5% of cases, all those surveyed agreed that a fall in consumer confidence was the main cause.
When asked about their outlook for 2008, 57.5% described the prospects for the first quarter as gloomy, while 48% were hopeful for the overall year.
Bish said: “The trading figures have to be put in context. They are against performance last year when Christmas and New Year dates fell well for the pub trade and resulted in a longer party period and some very good trading figures across the board.
“The eternal truths remain – that well invested pubs with food fared well; those who got their act together, focused on Christmas and New Year came out better overall and everyone thinks it’s going to get better.”
