Holiday fever helped to boost spending on eating and drinking out-of-home in April, with like-for-likes sales figures overall up 3.8% for the month. Figures from the Coffer Peach Business Tracker also showed total sales, which include the impact of new openings, ahead by 6.2% on the same month last year.
However, the headline figures hide a more complex picture of consumer spending. “While the school holidays had a positive effect, Easter 2011 wasn’t as good as Easter 2010 and while the hot weather helped pubs in particular, it also brought out more home barbecues as a counter-attraction,” said Peter Martin of Peach Factory, which produces the Tracker, which monitors sales performance across 21 major pub and restaurant operators, in partnership with KPMG, UBS and the Coffer Group.
“The extra holiday for the Royal Wedding, Easter being later, how school holidays fell and the sunny weather all played a role, but not always as might have been expected,” said Martin.
“The challenge for pubs and restaurants has been to convince people to go out rather than stay at home and watch the Royal Wedding on their own TV, for example, or enjoy the sun around their own or friends’ barbecues. So to grow sales over the month is good news, with the run up to the Easter weekend particularly strong,” he added.
“Hot weather, as we had this year, generally tends to favour pubs, especially those with outside areas, rather than restaurants. Last year, it rained over Easter and many people went shopping especially to malls, and to inside entertainment like the cinema, benefiting restaurants in those locations. Good weather can be a double-edged sword.”
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