Here are five important movements from pre-COVID-19 trading numbers that are revealed by our best-in-class sales measurement service.
1 Saturdays up…
As consumers become more careful about their spending, Saturday is becoming more of a focal point for visits. It has picked up 1.6 percentage points of weekly sales share by value from pre-pandemic levels, suggesting that big high-tempo occasions are being concentrated on weekends. Average Saturday sales are also up +7% vs pre-pandemic, one of only three days which have managed to push ahead of where we were in 2019.
2 … But Fridays and Sundays down
Saturday’s growing share of big nights out has come at the expense of Friday, which has seen its share of sales trimmed by 1.3 percentage points. This also reflects a drop in early evening visits at the end of the working week, as more people opt to work from home on Fridays. Sundays have meanwhile lost 1.2 percentage points of share, as some consumers rein in their weekend visits to pubs, bars and restaurants.
3 Thursday the new Friday for after-work visits
As many workers narrow their days in the office to midweek, Thursdays are becoming a more popular time for after-work visits to the On Premise, with average sales up +6% vs pre-pandemic. Their share of sales is up by 1.5 percentage points—and Wednesday (up 0.3% percentage points) has recorded a modest increase too.
4 Weekend trends heightened in London
All these trends have been even more apparent in London. Saturdays have seen a 2.7 percentage point increase in their share of sales, while Fridays have lost 3.2 percentage points. Saturday now accounts for just over a quarter (25.2%) of all weekly sales—notably higher than Friday’s share of 19.8%, which was the number one night of the week pre-pandemic.
5 Spirits rise across the week
Category-wise, spirits has seen the biggest shift in sales away from Friday (down 2.9 percentage points) and towards Thursday and Saturday (both up 1.3 percentage points). With their share of sales increasing on Sunday and Tuesday too, consumers clearly view spirits and cocktails as an everyday drinking choice now, and not just to be saved for a big night out.
CGA by NielsenIQ’s expert analysis of drinks sales trading by daypart, category and venue type helps operators and suppliers pinpoint promotional opportunities and gain market share. To learn more, click here and contact CGA client director Paul Bolton at paul.bolton@cgastrategy.com.
