Introduction Consumers are continually making choices about what they do, where they go and whether they go back. With finite disposable incomes and increased competition for the leisure pound, it s vital that we understand the people coming through the doors of the nation s pubs, bars and clubs. Based on in-depth research with 1800 consumers, Carlsberg UK s Consumer Insights Report 2014 explores the trends, habits and behaviours of today s pub and bar consumers, revealing what is driving visits to pubs and bars, and also to other competing leisure experiences, including restaurants, coffee shops, cinema, gyms and retail locations. First commissioned in 2010, the research is designed to help support Carlsberg UK s customers to identify ways to drive incremental visits, spend and profit. Kathryn Purchase, Director of Customer Marketing
Consumer Lifestage Profiles NESTING COUPLES FAMILIES EMPTY NESTERS
The pub remains central to people s leisure choices Which leisure activities do you do weekly? Pub Go Shopping Coffee Shop Play Sport Gym Visit Restaurant Day out Attend Live Sports Cinema Bingo Go to gig Bowling Comedy Theatre 3 3 3 2 2 6 6 6 17 22 20 34 31 30 People have choices with their leisure time and money; buy that new pair of shoes, get a new mobile phone, watch a film or go to the pub? The pub remains the no.1 out-ofhome activity for the UK adult and we need to ensure it stays this way. On-trade visits have stabilised and are slightly on the up 2010 = 33% 2012 = 34% 2014 = 34% Significant growth coming from: Families (36% from 33%) SWAGs (42% from 37%) Empty Nesters (39% from 37%) However, substantial decline from Young, Free and Singles (-6%) and Nesting Couples (-7%) - the trade must remain relevant and attractive to the next generation of customers
What makes a good outlet? The basics are the basics. No matter how sophisticated your customers are, if the food is poor, amenity untidy and the staff unwelcoming, people will not come back. However, as occasions become more treat than habit, consumers are becoming increasing demanding around retail standards, with the social aspects of the pub becoming less important Quality of food (+2%), table service (+10%) and free Wi-Fi (+14%) are big risers However, 1 in 6 customers don t care about knowing everyone in the pub Smoking is no longer of crucial importance to pub goers 83% of respondents don t look for a good smoking area Drinks prices are no.1 factor for the young, while for couples, SWAGs and empty nesters it s value for money and cleanliness for families. How important are the following factors when choosing an outlet? % saying 8+/10 Essentials Quality of Food - 79% Drinks Prices - 71% Value for Money - 78% Quality of Toilets - 70% Cleanliness - 78% Staff Friendliness - 70% Type of Food - 73% Location - 69% Food Prices - 69% Atmosphere - 66% Service Levels - 64% Important Furniture - 54% Table Service - 49% Good Parking - 45% Security - 44% Icing on top Beer Garden - 40% Healthier food - 22% Where mates go - 36% Award Winning - 17% Pre-bookable tables -34% Good smoking area - 17% Free Wi-Fi - 32% Know everyone there-16% Open late - 32% Has dance floor - 12%
Pubs it s a repertoire thing Different outlets are used for different occasions, whether it s the local for a pint, a food pub for a decent meal, the sports bar to watch the football, or an upmarket outlet for a big night out in town. How many different pubs / bars /clubs do you visit in a year? Only 1% of pub-goers visit just one outlet a year, with most having a repertoire of outlets to choose from half (49%) have a repertoire of between 5-10 outlets, with a further 1/5 (13%) having 11 or more. 28 28 21 You have two choices here: Be single minded and famous for what you do best Be a really good all-rounder Key is understanding your drinker and the competition. There is a greater opportunity to specialise in urban areas whereas rural outlets can be a bit more of an all-rounder, appealing to your customers on multiple occasions. 10 5 4 1 2 1 2-4 5-7 8-10 11-15 16-20 21-30 30+
Engaging with your customers How do you find out about new pubs / bars / clubs or what these types of venues are doing? 63 56 31 28 18 17 6 2 All the good work that you re doing can go to waste if your customers (current and potential) don t know about it. With the growing trend of digital and social media, along with the more traditional methods of communicating, it s imperative to choose the right channel to engage your customer. Personal recommendations and just walking in remain the top two reasons for visiting a pub, at 63% and 56% respectively. However, this is down from 69% and 58% respectively in 2010 and is being replaced by the internet (28%, up from 19% in 2010) and social media (18% up from 6%) as consumers use their smartphones and tablets to find out information about your pub. But it s not time to ignore the local approach, with local press and outside-the-pub communications still very important for the trade, a trend that is not seen in many other industries local counts for pub-goers!
The social hub Which social media platforms do you use a lot/all the time? 82 With 64% of drinkers now visiting monthly or less frequently, the on-trade need to talk to consumers when they re not in outlet. 15 34 54 Social media is vital to engaging current and new customers with your offering, events and activities, giving people a reason to come through the door and prompting additional visits. 15 14 12 11 But choosing the right media for your audience is vital: Facebook is the obvious first choice with even 76% of the 50yrs+ using it a lot Young Free & Single think about Twitter (58%), Snapchat (38%), YouTube (78%) Empty Nesters use Facebook complemented with YouTube (40%) content. 5
Future customers Young Free & Singles remain engaged with the on-trade and are more likely to be regular visitors than older drinkers However there s a significant drop in frequency of visits as this group move from weekly to monthly visits. Much of this can be attributed to young adults relationship with alcohol as they are much less likely to drink at home than older generations, and competing leisure activities, such as coffee shops. Key to attracting them is to create social and shared experiences, along with prompting occasions beyond the big night out to increase the frequency that they come through your doors. % visiting the pub weekly 42 YFS 37 36 33 34 34 2010 2012 2014 43 Adults % drinking at home weekly 50 52 % YFS drinking at home weekly 50 47 43 2010 2012 2014 59 74 YFS NC M&D SWAG EN
Women and the pub Women are not visiting the on-trade as frequently as men (24% vs. 44%). It s not just the lost female occasions that costs the trade but also that women s lack of engagement with pubs puts pressure on male visits as well. Getting your offer right and making the environment, food and drinks range and service level right, for both genders, is key. % visiting the pub weekly Women Men 41 43 44 24 24 24 % drinking at home weekly 39 57 It s not just about the booze for women as they drink less than men (57% of men drink at home every week vs. 39% of women) They are still engaged with the pub (63% visiting monthly) but need reasons to visit more frequently, and there is a need to think about events and activities that will appeal to them. Women are more likely to go to a coffee shop (32% vs. 28% of men), watch a film (53% vs. 47%) and go shopping (34% vs. 29%), so how can you introduce these factors/experiences to your outlet? 2010 2012 2014 Women Men % women very interested in doing in the On-Trade 23 26 29 31 31 37 43 46
Budget time Not all customers are the same, they earn different amounts of money, have different expectations and they are experiencing different occasions. Are you catering for the habitual local drinker or the price in-sensitive consumer on a special occasion? Or both? How much do you budget for a midweek occasion? 22 24 21 13 11 5 2 1 1 Price sensitive vs. treaters: 45% budget < 9 for an evening meal vs. 24% > 13 38% expect to pay < 2.50 for a pint of beer vs. 11% > 3.50 76% of regulars know roughly the price of a drink compared to only 52% of infrequent visitors Know who s in your outlet and why, then give them the products, service and atmosphere that will delight them. How much do you budget for a weekend occasion? 20 21 17 15 8 9 3 5 2
A Calendar of Events Which of the following occasions would you consider going to a pub / bar / club for? Birthday Anniversary Bank Holiday New Year's Eve Summer BBQ Mother's Day Christmas Party Christmas Eve Father's Day Easter World Cup Football Valentines Day New Year's Day FA Cup Final Bonfire night Christmas Day Champions League Final Halloween St. Patrick's Day World Cup Rugby St. George's Day Wimbledon Burns' Night The Superbowl 43 54 83 40 37 35 32 24 31 32 23 22 19 18 16 16 15 15 14 4 9 9 12 13 We all know that there are certain times when people want to come out, and the trade is busier than usual. Outlets have been pretty good at knowing when people s birthdays are and prompting them to come out. Mother s Day is now the busiest day of the year for many food-led outlets. But what else should we be focusing on? Anniversaries are the no.2 occasion and is especially important for Nesting Couples and Families 64% of Families would head to the pub for Mother s Day, with 58% saying the same for Father s Day, big opportunity here. Halloween (41%), Christmas Eve (40%), New Year s Day (32%) and St Patrick s Day are much bigger for Young, Free and Singles. A good CRM (Customer Relationship Management) solution is invaluable to understanding which occasions your drinkers are interested in, so think about how you can best capture this data.
Filling your quieter times Friday and Saturday nights, along with Sunday lunchtimes are probably pretty busy but what about the quieter times? Midweek evenings, mornings, that lull between lunch and dinner when are your dead times, and what can you do to drive footfall? There s no surprise that the most popular activities include pub quizzes, football and beer festivals, which appeal across the board to all ages and genders. However, there are many other activities, such as cooking lessons, cocktail lessons, films, computer games or even a clairvoyant evening that can appeal to some of your consumers, and differentiate you from the competition. Build up awareness and understanding of your offer through consistent times and communications, whilst also remembering that consumers are after experiences when they go out verifying what you do is also key. Which of the following are you interested in doing in a pub / bar / club? Traditional pub quiz Cuisine evenings Comedy night Watching live football After work drinks Beer festival Business lunch Watching films Murder mystery night Going on a date Cooking lessons Traditional pub games Karaoke Pool comps Traditional board games Card games Clairvoyant Bingo Computer games Darts comps X factor viewing Cocktail lessons Poker 6 37 33 33 29 27 26 23 22 18 18 18 17 15 15 14 13 13 13 13 11 11 45
The death of the promotion? Which of the following deals appeal to you the most? 39 2010 2104 It has never been more important to drive additional footfall into your outlet, whether that be appealing to a new consumer or getting your current ones to come in when they otherwise but not. But how best to do this? 17 9 7 7 4 4 4 2 2 1 1 1 All-day low prices is the no.1 with 39% of consumers, with a total of 66% stating this in their top 3. With increasing scepticism over the true value of retailer offers, along with consumers wanting to choose what they want, ensuring great VFM across all your products and at all times of day is key. You only need to look at the grocers marketing strategy to see this is what people have become accustomed to. Food-led promotions can also be key 62% putting food and drinks deals in their top 3 and 53% wanting set menus, thus helping customers know what their total bill will come to.
Try something different % who have tried a new drink in the last month No, 63 Yes, 37 No, 52 2010 2014 Yes, 48 Which country / continent would you be happy to buy an unknown lager brand from? 77% 66% 57% 52% 28% 42% 34% 48% of pub-goers have tried a new drink in the last month, up from 37% in 2010 and 43% in 2012. Young Free & Singles are more adventurous with 69%, but Families (56%) and even some Empty Nesters (26%) are trying new products, so don t be afraid to stock new brands. Food (91%), soft drinks (79%) and wine (75%) are key categories where people will try new things, but lager (59%) is actually higher than ale (47%). Rotational and seasonal ales have long been popular with the trade, but how many operators evolve and mix their lager range? Key countries that they are willing to try a new lager from are: UK (77%), Germany (66%), Belgium (57%), France (52%) so people naturally go to the countries with brewing history and heritage, but don t forget others like Africa (28%), Scandinavia (42%) and South America (34%). Many drinkers are open to new products from different cultures.
Pulling the right lever to drive sales MORE PEOPLE MORE OFTEN SPENDING MORE Promotions Outlet Standards External Communications Big Events Promotions Outlet Standards Internal & External Communications Rhythm of the Week activities Range Staff recommendations Internal Communications
This is just the start Even the greatest insights hold little value unless they are considered and ultimately acted upon. That s why at Carlsberg UK we are committed to driving more people into your business, more often and spending more when they re with you. If you are an existing customer please speak to your Account Manager and challenge us to make a difference to you and your customers. And if you re new to Carlsberg UK then please contact 0845 601 3432 or visit www.carlsbergwedelivermore.co.uk for more information. We hope you found the Carlsberg UK s Consumer Insights Report 2014 useful and we look forward to working with you closely in 2015 and beyond. Kathryn Purchase, Director of Customer Marketing
MEDIA CONTACTS Mark Stretton Fleet Street Communications, T: 020 3567 5802 Email: mark@fsc.uk.com Michelle Williams Fleet Street Communications, T: 020 3567 5806 Email: michelle@fsc.uk.com RESEARCH Research was conducted online with 1800 consumers, on behalf of Carlsberg UK by HPI Cardinal, in August 2014. DISCLAIMER This report was created by Carlsberg UK. Every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. The authors will not be held liable for any loss or damages incurred through the use of this report.