You won’t have missed Tesco’s viral ‘Pop to your local’ ad campaign that’s now symbolic of April 12ths easing of lockdown restrictions.
Despite a sprinkle of snow in some parts, thirsty punters descended on UK pubs to refind their pub-going form with a rare Monday tipple.
The good news is the forecast for increasing confidence is positive.
“How Confident Would You Feel Visiting Pubs, Bars and Restaurants In the Following Scenarios?”
A 2021 report by On Premise measurement, insight & research consultancy CGE shows encouraging signs of consumer confidence in returning to the UK pub scene.
Sampling 3000 UK consumer responses between the 8th and 18th of January 2021 CGA’s Hospitality Consumer Forecast explores consumer sentiment relating to specific scenarios, and plans for returning to the hospitality sector.
Here are some of the results consumer confidence in visiting pubs and bars in certain scenarios:
The good news is pub goers are increasingly optimistic about entering hospitality establishments as vaccine efforts roll out across younger and younger age groups.
If the rate of vaccine rollout continues without a hitch, by May 17th, when restrictions are lifted for indoor dining, hospitality may witness a significant boost in numbers and confidence.
The Highest Spenders Are Already Feeling Relaxed About Returning to Hospitality Venues.
It won’t be an instant recovery, but CGA’s data points to reason for optimism. Those already keen to get back to the taps and pub grub are the higher spenders.
Both the 18-34 and 35 - 54 age groups are already more comfortable than the UK average to venture out into the UK hospitality scene.
Now Hospitality Needs to Nurture the Early Opportunities (While More Reluctant Customers Regain Confidence).
The younger demographics are the people hospitality venues will need to cement loyalty amongst and form lasting bonds with through great hospitality experiences.
Here are two things you can do to ensure they think of you of as an establishment worth returning to.
1. Eliminate paperwork wherever you can
To win new loyal customers you’re relying on making a positive first impression and delivering a memorable experience.
To fill the till and capture loyalty you’ll need to be customer-facing as much as possible. That means streamlining admin so you can keep serving the customer.
✔️Digitise your admin as much as you can
✔️Get your team involved in profit loss prevention process
✔️Find time-savings on stock take and other routine tasks
✔️Integrate business data that will help guide strategy
We want to see you stay open. Swap coffee stained clipboards for the growyze app here and you’ll do all of the above, and more.
Count stock with your phone camera, capture waste instantly, place orders quicker and view big picture data in a single dashboard to drive decision making.
2. Train teams on how to balance ‘experience’ with ‘safety’
The catch 22 of reopening will be in letting customers enjoy their return to your establishment without letting covid safety interventions that mean they may not return.
✔️Train teams thoroughly on covid health & safety guidelines
✔️Communicate with customers on arrival what’s expected of them
✔️Emphasise the importance of soft skills to teams
✔️Make eye contact with customers for visual order cues
✔️Do everything you can so that customers need not get up
By the end of the summer we want to see rave hospitality reviews filling Time Out and Open Table again.
We want the UK hospitality scene to be reflecting on 2021 as the year it got its mojo back. And we want Growyze to help you be part of that recovery.
Good luck!
