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Going out to the pub is top leisure activity says Carlsberg study

Published:  10 November, 2014

Going to the pub is still the number one leisure activity, according to the findings of a consumer poll of some 1,800 people.

The research which hoped to give fresh insights in to the trends, habits and behaviours of UK adults fournd that going to the pub drew more people than shopping outlets, coffee shops and restaurants as their go-to destination when enjoying activities out.

The report broke people into several different "life stage" categories including young & free, nesting couples, single wise affluent grown-ups, families, mums and dads and empty nesters.

The three categories that are helping to drive incremental growth for pubs are the increase number of families visiting, which increased 3% to 36% of families visiting pubs, single wise affluent grown-ups are also visiting more which grew 5% to 42% and empty nesters visits grew 2% to 39%.

The biggest draws for visitors to a pub are the quality of food, staff service and wi-fi, according to the report.  

A bit worrying however is that younger people are not as inclined to visit pubs as older people. The number of young, free and single people actually declined by 6% and nesting couples declined 7%.

An opportunity to draw in younger people may be with weekly night events like pub quiz nights. Forty-five per cent of those polled said they are interested in visiting a pub on a week night for pub quizzes.

Personal recommendations and just walking in are the top two reasons that people visit a pub with 63% of people visiting pubs based on personal recommendations and 56% of people just walk in. This can be challenging for pubs then as the second biggest reason for people visiting comes down to chance.

Pubs seem to be more involved in social media with 82% of pubs using Facebook to connect with consumers, 54% using YouTube 54% and 34% of pubs are using Twitter.

Men dominate the on-trade with 44% visiting the pub compared to 24%of women.

Birthdays are the occasion most people consider going to a going to a pub, bar or club with 83% of people saying they would visit and 54% people said they would consider going to the pub for anniversaries. The lead up to Christmas is another excellent opportunity and occasion for people going to the pub, 32% saying they would visit for a Christmas party and the same said they would visit on Christmas Eve.

Yearly holidays it turns out are far more significant drivers of pub traffic than single events like the World Cup, which only 23% of people said they would visit the pub for a World Cup match.

Mother's Day and Father's Day are also big opportunities for the pub with 64% of families saying they would head to the pub for Mother's Day and 58% of those polled saying they would head to the pub for the Father's Day. 

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