Latest Public Holiday Sees 1 In 5 Consumers Visit New Zealand’s Bars & Restaurants

This month’s research highlights that recent public holidays have seen consumers flock to the On Premise.

The latest research into the New Zealand On Premise reveals that visitation has dipped slightly over the past month, particularly across food-led visits which have declined 4 percentage points since September – in contrast drinks-led visits have remained stable.

Consumers are also visiting pubs, bars and restaurants slightly less than usual, however the 1 in 5 consumers who are visiting the On Premise more often are balancing out the 2 in 5 who are going out less often than usual. Of those who are visiting more frequently, around half are doing so to treat themselves while 1 in 3 are doing so to make up previous missed occasions – suggesting there’s still pent-up demand following COVID-19 restrictions easing.

For those are visiting less often, the reasons driving this change in behaviour is linked to cost of living increases (63%) and price increases in eating and drinking out (51%). However, over a third of consumers are still visiting the On Premise once or twice a week, with 56% visiting once or twice a month.

Although the announcement came unexpectedly, the recent public holiday for the National Day of Mourning saw 1 in 5 consumers visit the On Premise in New Zealand, with consumers visiting mostly for a meal (58%), to catch up with friends and family (41%) and to ‘get out of the house’ (33%).

Public holidays can be a great opportunity to target to give a boost to category sales, with OPUS, CGA’s consumer research solution, highlighting that the public holiday On Premise visitor over-indexes when it comes to both beer and spirits consumption.

James Phillips, Director of Client Solutions: Asia Pacific, said: “As many consumers use public holidays to socialise in the On Premise with loved ones, operators should focus on marketing their food offerings in the lead up to a public holiday – and emphasise the ability to provide an enjoyable experience for those intimate gatherings with friends and family in order to capture as much custom as possible.”

Click here to download the latest New Zealand On Premise Consumer Pulse - https://cgastrategy.com/new-zealand-on-premise-consumer-pulse/

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