Pub dinners down as older consumers stay away

The number of consumers visiting pubs for dinner declined in 2019 as the older demographic visited less, new research by the NPD Pub Tracker has revealed.

Whilst it still accounts for the majority of visits (34.1%), dinner visits at British pubs declined by 3.4% in 2019, down from 35.4% the previous year. Despite the fall at dinner, other dayparts saw an uplift in the year. Lunch increased by 2.7%, and morning snacking by 5.2%.

Simultaneously, the 50-64 demographic - which accounts for the biggest group at 25.3% - saw the biggest decrease in visit frequency, down 3.5%, whilst visits in 18-24 year olds increased rapidly year-on-year, growing by 18.7% in December 2019.

This shifting demographic was also reflected in gender splits, as visits from male consumers declined by 0.8% and visits from females increased by 1.6%, now accounting for 48.7% of all visits.

Parties with kids accounted for almost 1 in 3 pub visits, but these declined by 2.2% year-on-year. Adults only visits increased by 1.5%, accounting for 70.7% of visits.

In terms of social class, the strongest growth came form the ‘C1 group’ (lower middle class), who’s visits were up 10.3% year-on-year. They now make up the most important group for the sector, accounting for 28.1% of all visits.

“These findings further underline the ability of pubs to adapt and evolve their offers to changing trends, said Peter Linden, The NPD Group insights manager foodservice. “With pub closures believed to have bottomed out, this is a market that is now experiencing healthy growth, and this growth is coming from a range of dayparts and demographics.”

“It is particularly positive to see visits from young adults growing strongly, as pubs have worked hard in recent years to attract this demographic. Efforts in recent years to attract more younger consumers include improving ranges of craft beer, offering premium spirits, high quality coffee and good food, and ensuring there are good wi-fi connections and charging ports in pubs.”

“However, any upwards trends are likely to be seriously impacted over spring and summer by coronavirus although it’s clearly not possible to be more precise at this stage. We’d expect the numbers to bounce back once there is evidence the coronavirus outbreak has diminished significantly.”