UK consumers expect to pay £8.22 for a cocktail
A report by DesignMyNight has found discrepancies between how UK consumers and venues view the on-trade.
To create the report, DesignMyNight surveyed 183 venue operators and 186 consumers around the UK and Ireland.
On average, the consumers surveyed said they would expect to pay £8.22 (US$11) for a cocktail, while operators believed £10.25 (US$14) would be fair.
Other disparities include predicted venue visits, with 47% of operators expecting footfall to increase in the next 12 months. However, only 27% of consumers expect to visit the on-trade more regularly.
On the other hand, 19% of operators expect footfall to fall, but only 9% of consumers anticipate visiting the on-trade less.
Looking forward to the next 12 months, around 64% said they expect to visit on-trade venues the same number of times, paired with 34% of operators who expect footfall to remain steady.
In the past 12 months, 42% of the consumers surveyed said they visited a pub or bar at least once a week, and 72% visited more than one a month. Only 25% said they visited on-trade venues less than once a month, while 2% said they didn’t visit one at all.
Meanwhile, 38% of venues said they experienced an increase in footfall in the past 12 months. Another 30% said it remained steady, while 32% experienced a decline.
Consumer barriers to visiting on-trade venues included a lack of free time (34%), prices too high (32%) and a lack of income (23%).
Challenges and opportunities
Of those venues surveyed, around 36% believe their business is thriving and are highly confident that they’ll still be trading in 12 months. Another 38% said business is ‘good’ and expect to keep trading.
A further 22% said they were finding operations challenging and were unsure of their 12-month outlook. Only 3% said business isn’t good, with a chance of closure, and 1% said there is a high chance of closure.
In total, 74% of pub and bar operators in the UK said they feel positive about the longevity of their business.
Those in larger multi-venue groups were more likely to be optimistic, with 81% feeling positive. This is compared with just 68% of independent operators.
This divide between group and independent operators was felt elsewhere, with independent venues generally struggling with profitability and adapting to new legislation more than their group counterparts.
The top five challenges faced by on-trade venues were the cost of operations (81%), improving profitability (54%), hiring and retaining staff (50%), attracting new customers (46%) and new legislation (39%).
Notably, the figure affected by staffing challenges has dropped by 13 percentage points since DesignMyNight’s previous survey in 2024.
These figures are more positive than a survey conducted by UK industry bodies, which discovered that a third of businesses are operating at a loss – an 11 percentage point increase on the previous quarter.
Opportunities
The report also discovered some opportunities for on-trade operators. The most appealing features of an on-trade venue were cited as outside seating (72%), a relaxed atmosphere (60%), a good location (59%) and a good reputation (58%).
Despite 83% of consumers finding live performances appealing, only 60% of venues hosted them in the past year.
Another opportunity highlighted was venue hire, with 57% of those who offer it claiming it is more profitable than standard operations.
Katie Houghton, head of brand at DesignMyNight, said: “Despite very real challenges in the sector, our report uncovers a remarkably positive outlook from operators. Hospitality is a truly resilient sector, driven by people who are incredibly passionate about what they do, and it’s encouraging to see that sentiment remains strong.
“It’s clear that there is an opportunity here for venues to align with evolving consumer desires, particularly in areas like live entertainment and interactive experiences. Hospitality is extremely agile, capable of pivoting to meet these unique needs and expectations, but there is still plenty that can be nurtured and capitalised on.
“It’s more important than ever that consumers are being offered value for money, and technology is a key driver in helping businesses deliver this, spotting and managing trends, driving efficiency across all areas, maximising offer visibility, and much more.”
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