Report: October 2014
Released: November 2014
November 2014
GB LEISURE IN OCTOBER 2014 COMMENT
Another tough month for leisure spend, falling 10% year-on-
On the face of it, it’s hard to reconcile this month's difficult
year and for a second consecutive month. With Christmas
results for leisure spending with the rhetoric describing the
upon us and consumer confidence still fragile the continued
UK as the 'fastest growing economy in the developed world'.
prioritisation of Eating Out spend over other leisure is a very
But a quick glimpse below the top line GDP figures reveals an
interesting dynamic, it is clear that this activity is now firmly
economy where wages are still 8% below their pre-recession
established as our favourite leisure pursuit. Households in
peak, with some forecasters predicting that it will be 2019
London and the South East saw spend fall 16% year-on-year vs
before they recover to this level. That would mean a fully 'lost
a 7% decline elsewhere in GB continuing a trend of decreasing
decade' for wages growth in the UK. In this light, the
disparity in spend between the two areas. However,
performance of the Eating Out sector looks all the more
households in London and the South East remain the biggest
remarkable, and the performance of Drinking Out and Other
spenders with, on average, £214 spent on total leisure in
Leisure all the less surprising
October, over 21% more than the average for the rest of GB.
Steve Jebson
Paul Flatters
Commercial Director
Chief Executive
Greene King
Trajectory
November 2014
HEADLINES
TOTAL LEISURE
• In October, the average British household spent
£188 on out of home leisure, down £21 (10%)
on last year and down £19 (9%) on September.
Average Household Spend in October
£187.99
Spend fell for the second consecutive month as
consumer confidence stagnated and anxiety
10% decrease year-on-year
about funding Christmas spending grew.
9% decrease vs. Sept.
• Eating Out was the only activity to buck the
trend of falling spend year-on-year in October,
showing modest growth of £2 (2%). Drinking
EATING OUT
DRINKING OUT
OTHER LEISURE
Average Household
Spend in October
Average Household
Spend in October
Average Household
Spend in October
2% increase year-onyear
8% decrease year-onyear
22% decrease yearon-year
12% decrease vs. Sept.
9% decrease vs. Sept.
7% decrease vs. Sept.
Out saw a fall in spend of £4 (8%) and Other
Leisure activities saw a substantial fall of £19
(22%) over the same period.
• A year-on-year fall in spend on Drinking Out
reflects a trend towards households
increasingly favouring food centred occasions
over drink led ones. Hospitality businesses
increasing their reliance on food sales over
drink continue to benefit from this dynamic.
November 2014
TOTAL LEISURE SPEND
GB HOUSEHOLD AVERAGE EATING OUT, DRINKING OUT AND
OTHER LEISURE SPEND BY MONTH
• Industry metrics pointed toward a slowdown in
the housing market in October, providing little
to boost confidence, particularly in London and
the South East where momentum slowed most
markedly.
• A continuation of unseasonably warm weather
in October meant footfall numbers on Britain’s
high-streets continued a trend of long term
decline (albeit one that appears to be easing
gradually), placing pressure on operators with a
high level of exposure to these locations.
• A game of chicken between consumers and
retailers may force retailers into deep
discounting pre-Christmas, which, weather
permitting, could help drive high-street traffic
in the coming months, providing opportunities
for leisure operators in these locations to
increase trade.
DRINKING OUT
DRINKING OUT
EATING OUT
EATING OUT
OTHER LEISURE
OTHER LEISURE
November 2014
GB HOUSEHOLD AVERAGE TOTAL LEISURE SPEND MIX BY MONTH
TOTAL LEISURE SPEND MIX
• Despite a 1% month-on-month fall in the
amount of total leisure spend allocated to
Eating Out, a figure of 41% represents a 5%
increase year-on-year. It will be interesting to
see how long the ascendancy of Eating Out as a
leisure pursuit can continue before plateauing.
• A year-on-year fall in spend on Drinking Out,
similar to that in total leisure, meant its share of
leisure spend remained static at 22% in
October, highlighting this activity as a staple
British leisure pursuit despite signs of a gradual
decline in appeal.
• Share of spend allocated to Other Leisure
activities fell 6% year-on-year, as households
looked to cut back on unnecessary spend ahead
of Christmas. However, many ring-fenced
spend on Eating Out, suggesting households
have clear leisure budgeting priorities.
DRINKING
DRINKING
OUT OUT
EATING
EATING
OUT OUT
OTHER
LEISURE
OTHER
LEISURE
November 2014
TOTAL LEISURE OVER TIME: OCT 14 vs. OCT 13 & OCT 14 vs. SEP 14
TOTAL LEISURE OVER TIME
TOTAL LEISURE SPEND OVER TIME: REGIONAL OVERVIEW
• All household types saw a decline in average
spend on out of home leisure on a month-onmonth basis in October, as growing anxiety about
funding Christmas took hold.
• Families saw the largest month-on-month fall in
leisure spending of any household type at £30
(13%). Interestingly however, they were the only
group to see spend increase against last year,
largely driven by greater spend on Eating Out.
TOTAL LEISURE SPEND OVER TIME: KIDS / NO KIDS OVERVIEW
• Year-on-year, households in London and the
South East reduced spend on out of home leisure
considerably more than those elsewhere in
Britain, spend decreasing £39 (16%) and £14
(7%) respectively. Relatively greater deceleration
in momentum of the London housing market in
October may have dealt a more severe blow to the
confidence of households in the capital than
elsewhere.
OCT 2013
OCT 2014
SEP 2014
November 2014
EATING OUT SPEND OVER TIME: SEP 13 vs. SEP 14 & AUG 14 vs. SEP 14
EATING OUT OVER TIME
EATING OUT SPEND OVER TIME: REGIONAL OVERVIEW
• Year-on-year, the average British household
increased spend on Eating Out by a modest £2
(2%) in October, however, in the context of
declines in spend on Drinking Out and Other
Leisure, this represents a continuation of the
strong performance of this activity.
• Despite seeing the largest month-on-month fall,
family households and households outside of
London and the South East were the driving
EATING OUT SPEND OVER TIME: KIDS / NO KIDS OVERVIEW
force behind year-on-year growth in spend on
Eating Out in October. Year-on-year, average
spend among these households increased £4
(5%) and £15 (25%) respectively in October.
• Relative stability in spend on Eating Out yearon-year suggests households are making this
activity a clear priority over other types of
leisure, cutting back spend elsewhere before
sacrificing spend on Eating Out.
OCT 2013
OCT 2014
SEP 2014
November 2014
DRINKING OUT OVER TIME: SEP 13 vs. SEP 14 & AUG 14 vs. SEP 14
DRINKING OUT OVER TIME
DRINKING OUT SPEND OVER TIME: REGIONAL OVERVIEW
• Year-on-year, household spend on Drinking Out
fell £4 (8%) in October, similar falls were seen
among households in London and the South East
as elsewhere in Britain over the same period, spend
falling by £4 (7%) and £4 (8%) respectively.
• Declines in alcohol consumption, particularly
among young people, continue to cause a migration
away from drink only occasions. Drink is now
increasingly consumed as part of occasions centred
round food rather than in isolation, something
DRINKING OUT SPEND OVER TIME: KIDS / NO KIDS OVERVIEW
reflected in continued rises in spend on Eating Out.
• With the festive season fast approaching, we may
see a resurgence in spend on this activity over the
coming months. However, with many claiming that
their intentions are to spend less than last year on
out of home food and drink during December,
spend will likely remain under pressure on a yearon-year basis.
OCT 2013
OCT 2014
SEP 2014
November 2014
OTHER LEISURE OVER TIME: SEP 13 vs. SEP 14 & AUG 14 vs. SEP 14
OTHER LEISURE SPEND
OVER TIME
OTHER LEISURE SPEND OVER TIME: REGIONAL OVERVIEW
• The majority of the £21 fall in average household
total leisure spend in October was driven a by a
£19 fall in spend on Other Leisure activities.
• Although family households were the only group
to see spend on Other Leisure increase against
September, these households saw spend fall by
£13 (12%) year-on-year. A considerably warmer
half term this year than last meant a wider range
of free outdoor leisure activities were a viable
OTHER LEISURE SPEND OVER TIME: KIDS / NO KIDS OVERVIEW
option for family households looking to occupy
the kids during the break.
• Worries around Christmas meant households
became increasingly prudent with their leisure
spending in October to ensure an ability to cover
costs during the festive period; all household
types made the greatest sacrifice to Other Leisure
spend of all leisure categories in attempts to
alleviate pressure on their finances.
OCT 2013
OCT 2014
SEP 2014
November 2014
OTHER LEISURE SPEND BREAKDOWN
GB HOUSEHOLD AVERAGE MONTHLY OTHER LEISURE SPEND: AUGUST,
SEPTEMBER AND OCTOBER
• The magnitude of the fall in spend on Other
Leisure activities in October meant that
average monthly household spend fell across
all Other Leisure categories in the three
months to October compared to the three
months to September.
• Unseasonably warm weather in October
continued to mean that gym membership and
indoor activities had limited appeal.
THEATRE / CINEMA
MUSEUMS, ART GALLERIES
& OTHER ATTRACTIONS
BOWLING
LIVE SPORTS EVENTS
GAMBLING AT A
CASINO & OTHER
GAMING FOR
MONEY
GYM MEMBERSHIP
OTHER LIVE EVENTS
November 2014
ALL LEISURE – MIX OVER TIME BY GROUP
• For all household types, the mix of leisure spend in October was largely similar to that in September. The largest shift month-onmonth was seen among family households, for whom share of spend on Other Leisure grew 2% at the expense of Eating Out, driven by
a need to occupy the kids at half term.
• On a year-year basis, all household types saw the share of total leisure spend allocated to Eating Out grow by at least 5%, at the
expense of Other Leisure in all cases. A largely consistent share of spend allocated to Drinking Out among all household types year-onyear highlights the robustness of this activity in the context of changing consumer demands and declining alcohol consumption.
DRINKING OUT
EATING OUT
OTHER LEISURE
November 2014
Festive Spending Focus
November 2014
CONSUMERS PLAN TO REIGN IN
FESTIVE SPENDING IN 2014
DO YOU PERSONALLY EXPECT TO SPEND MORE, LESS OR ABOUT THE
SAME AMOUNT IN TOTAL ON EACH OF THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES
THIS DECEMBER COMPARED TO THE SAME TIME LAST YEAR?
• A year of continued pressure on household
finances has led to greater numbers looking to
sacrifice festive spending rather than increase
it. Despite this, the majority of British adults
intend to spend a similar amount to last year
on Christmas gifts, food and drink in the
home and food and drink out of the home
over the festive period.
• 26% of British adults plan to spend less on
Christmas gifts this year, compared to 17%
who plan to spend more. Projected spend on
food and drink saw a similar disparity with
27% intending to spend less against 15% who
claim they intend to spend more. Only spend
on food and drink in the home saw greater
numbers projecting increased spending
against last year.
THE SAME
MORE
LESS
November 2014
THE NEXT LEISURE SPEND TRACKER WILL BE RELEASED ON
Monday 22nd December 2014
November 2014
METHODOLOGY
• The Greene King Leisure Spend Tracker is part of an omnibus questionnaire run on behalf of Greene King by research partner
YouGov and analysed in conjunction with Trajectory Partnership.
• Respondents report on their household’s leisure behaviour over the previous week (e.g. spend, visit frequency etc.), with respect to
the leisure activities set out below:
Eating
Drinking
Out
Out
Gambling
Live Sports
Other Live
Gym
Museums, Art
Theatre and
Events
Events
Membership
Galleries and
Cinema
Bowling
Other Attractions
• The Leisure Spend Tracker is run four times in each calendar month, always going into field on a Monday. This data is then used to
generate a picture of household leisure activity in Great Britain over a 28 day period in each calendar month.
• Each month’s report is based on an online, nationally representative sample of c. 4,000 individuals (GB, 18+), reflecting the leisure
behaviour of c. 4,000 households. Data has been collected every month since August 2013.
• A wealth of demographic data is held against each respondent ,which allows for more fine-grained analysis of households with
particular characteristics.
November 2014
CONTACT
For media enquiries please contact:
Philip Walters
RLMFinsbury
Tel: +44 (0) 20 72513801
General enquiries:
Email: leisuretracker@greeneking.co.uk
Website: www.gkleisuretracker.co.uk
DISCLAIMER
This report was created by Greene King and Trajectory Partnership.
Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the material in this report. The authors will not be held liable
for any loss or damages incurred through the use of this report.
Bury St. Edmunds, November 2014.