Consumers to tighten purse strings on food and drink this Christmas

By Gemma McKenna

Published: 26 November, 2014

Consumers are planning to rein in Christmas spending on food, drink and gifts this year, according to a poll carried out by pub operator Greene King.

A total of 27% say they plan to spend less on food and drink in the on-trade, with 15% are budgeting to increase their spend on last year. At home, 20% say they'll spend less, 21% say more and 59% the same when it comes to getting in the festive food and drink supplies in December.

And consumers are also downgrading their gift expenditure, with 26% of British adults planning to spend less on Christmas gifts this year, compared to 17% who plan to spend more.

Overall however, the majority of consumers do not foresee their festive spending changing much in 2014.

Steve Jebson, Greene King's commercial director, said: "It has been another tough month for leisure spend, falling 10% compared to October last year. With Christmas just around the corner, Brits yet again limited their leisure spend last month. And, with consumer confidence still fragile, it is not surprising that many are hesitant to loosen the purse strings."

Other findings in the report showed that in October, the average British household spent £188 on total leisure, a decrease of £21 (10%) year-on-year.

Households in London and the south east reduced spend on out of home leisure by £39 (16%), which was considerably more than elsewhere in Britain, where it fell £14 (7%) respectively.

Eating Out was the only activity to see year-on-year growth, with the average household increasing spend by £2 (2%).

The survey was carried out as part of the Greene King Leisure Spend Tracker, an omnibus questionnaire run on behalf of Greene King by research partner YouGov and analysed in conjunction with Trajectory Partnership.

Greene King operates 1,900 pubs, restaurants and hotels across the country, of which 1,000 are retail pubs, restaurants and hotels, and the remaining 900 are tenanted, leased and franchised pubs. Its brands are Hungry Horse, Old English Inns, Eating Inn and Loch Fyne Seafood & Grill. It is also a brewer, with brands including Greene King IPA, Old Speckled Hen and Abbot Ale forming part of its portfolio.

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