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.
A survey of 3,000 cheese fans by OnePoll.com has shown that Cheddar is Britain’s most popular cheese.
Cheddar garnered 39% of the votes, beating Brie into second place and Red Leicester into third. The top five list was completed by Dutch Edam and Italian Mozzarella.
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.
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.
Pubs are closing down at their fastest rate ever – with those in towns and cities being hit the hardest.
According to the latest QuickBite survey, which tracks meals bought out-of-home, the pub has been pushed into second place by Chinese food as the nation’s favourite way to eat out.
More people are opting for Chinese food, especially takeaways, as disposable income is squeezed by rising bills. Measured over the last four quarters, the annual value of Chinese meals, both takeaway and table-service, amounted to £4.8 billion compared to annual expenditure on pub meals of £4.79 billion.
According to a survey of more than 2,000 adults for event planner Wigadoo.com, young professionals no longer have the time to see friends, and instead rely on email to keep in touch.
A third of workers in their 20s and 30s were afraid of organising nights out because they were worried their guests would drop out. Others opted out of socialising because of the time it took to arrange events (25%), laziness (22%) and the difficulty of keeping everyone happy (21%).
South coast city Brighton is the happiest place to live in the UK, according to a study for O2 Home Broadband.
94% of Brighton residents said they had a happy home. Brighton residents have all the benefits of living in a city, such as the shopping, culture, restaurants and nightlife, with the bonus of being by the sea. Brighton beat Leeds into second place, followed by Edinburgh, Cardiff and Plymouth. London came ninth and Belfast last in the 17-strong list.
According to the latest TV trends report from the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising, TV viewing during the first quarter of 2008 was at its highest level since 2004, averaging 3.97 hours per individual per day.
However, terrestrial channels’ share of TV viewing fell from 65.4% in the first quarter of 2007 to 61.9% in the first quarter of 2008, with declines in share of viewing for all the terrestrial channels. Non-terrestrial channels grew their combined share of viewing from 34.6% to 38.1% for the first quarter of 2008.