CGA’s Evolving High-Tempo Occasion Report provides in-depth analysis of sales trends and consumer behaviour in this lucrative but challenging part of the market. Latest data from the On Premise User Survey (OPUS) shows the frequency of high-tempo visits has dropped by 23.6% vs June last year—partly because of footfall dips driven by cost of living challenges and partly the result of a trend for earlier visits, with mid-afternoon and early-evening dayparts increasing their share of visits.
Despite this, there is headroom to grow sales if suppliers can adapt to consumers’ changing high-tempo needs and habits. Here are five of the report’s top insights.
1 Focus on core demographics
OPUS highlights the significant value of late-night consumers. They spend an average of £143 a month on eating and drinking out—£39 more than the average of £104 among all consumers—while half (51%) drink out at least weekly. With late night and high tempo consumers more likely to be younger than average GB consumers, strategies need to be orientated towards Gen Z in particular.
2 Understand changing channels and variable day parts
There has been substantial churn in late-night outlets in recent years. The Hospitality Market Monitor from CGA and AlixPartners indicates a sharp drop in nightclub numbers, but earlier visits have opened up opportunities for pubs to grow share of high-tempo occasions—especially via pub crawls. CGA’s PubTrack service provides more insights into how pubs can capitalise on this channel evolution.
3 Deliver memorable and safe experiences
More than half (55%) of consumers say they go out for a high-tempo visit for fun—the top motivating factor. But with 44% of them seeking to connect with friends, and 34% going out to make memories, venues need to facilitate social connections and experiences that people will remember for a long time. They must also emphasise safety, as more than half (55%) of late-night pub consumers say it is important for a venue to be safe—8 percentage points more than the average pub consumer.
4 Adapt to different choice drivers
OPUS data shows how late night consumers’ decision-making processes vary from venue to venue. For example, price and happy hour deals are the top two over-indexing factors in pubs, while other people’s choices and easy ordering methods rate higher in nightclubs. Tracking these different needs is crucial to satisfying guests.
5 Target trade-ups
Consumers often have flexible budgets on high-tempo occasions, making them excellent opportunities for trade-ups. Nearly two thirds (64%) of consumers agree they would pay more for a better quality drink in a nightclub, (+20pp vs the average outlet), while 59% would do so in a bar. Trade-up potential is especially high in cocktails, vodka, whiskey and Ready to Drink (RTD) products.
CGA’s Evolving High–Tempo Occasion Report provides expert analysis of challenges and opportunities in high-tempo and late-night occasions, including deep dives into big nights out, ticketed events, bottomless brunches and pub or bar crawls. It helps suppliers understand consumers’ reasons for visits and need states and pinpoint the role of different drink categories along the high-tempo journey. To discover more, click here and contact the CGA team.
