Real ale is the only type of beer now seeing its sales grow in UK pubs, helped by an increasing number of women enjoying the drink, a study has said.
While all other beer types, such as lager and keg bitters, saw their sales fall in the first half of 2009, sales of real ale grew 1%, it said, plus the number of women drinking real ale has doubled.
MPs will be presented with a report this afternoon which underlines the importance of pubs to society and calls for urgent action to stop pub closures.
The report was produced by the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) think tank, with the backing of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra).
Consumers are leaving pubs in their droves and heading to the off-licence as the credit crunch bites, according to latest research by market research company Nielsen.
In the last year, on-trade sales have dipped 11% compared to a 3% increase in the off-trade. The research also shows that consumers are cutting back on socialising, with 30 per cent saying they are spending less on going out than in previous years.
British pubs firm Mitchells & Butlers said trading had picked up over the past ten weeks, helped by strong demand for food, a trading update shows.
“Market conditions continue to be characterised by robust demand for good value pub food and associated sales of drinks while on-trade beer market volumes have continued to fall by about 10% over the past quarter,” Mitchells & Butlers said.
The Sex and the City effect has helped cocktails replace cider as the favourite drink among women this summer, according to pub chain Ember Inns. Research by the company found traditional Mojito and Cosmo cocktails to be more popular.
Sarah Sanson, Ember Inns marketing manager, said the Sex and the City film’s box-office success partly explains why women have changed their choice. Cider was the drink in summer 2007 – however in 2008 it looks set to be cocktails.
Drinkers are visiting pubs more often during the week, but cutting down on weekend sessions, a new report claims.
An ageing population, lack of time and more female-friendly environments are the reasons given by market analysts Datamonitor for the shift.
According to a study of 5,000 pub/bar customers around the UK, customers spend about an hour and a half in the pub each visit. However, according to the same survey in 2007, pub customers are consuming fewer drinks – on average 2.9 drinks. Customers also spent 20p less than they did in 2007.
The most common party composition in a pub is a couple, not a group of guys nor a mixed group of friends. Pubs attract more upmarket customers than many other retail channels – 22% are AB social classification.
Pubs have sold 175 million fewer pints of beer in the past year as a direct result of the smoking ban, according to market analysts AC Nielsen.
Jake Shepherd, AC Nielsen’s marketing director, said: “The winter months were particularly bad. Sales fell nine per cent through November to January when smokers would have been reluctant to stand outside in the cold to have a cigarette.”
Two-thirds of pubs don’t sell Champagne by the glass, but research has shown that 7% of customers would like to indulge in a glass of Champagne. Pubs attract more upmarket customers than many other retail channels – 22% are AB social classification, so Chamapgne should be available by the glass and merchandised on the bar. It recommends having a sparkling wine alternative for those who still want to indulge but have a tighter budget, and to have a sparkling rose option as well. There is also a food opportunity, such as tapas or canapes, to accompany sparkling wine and Champagne.
As customers enter a pub, 20% don’t know what type of drink they want. Of those who do, 12% don’t know what brand they will choose. Only 55% of pubs surveyed had drink promotional messages; a third didn’t have any wine list on information; and 92% of customers said pub staff didn’t try to offer a promotion or upsell products. Two-thirds of food customers don’t know what they are going to have to eat, so menus are a vital promotional tool.