Spending at pubs increased 23% year-on-year this Super Saturday – despite Scotland losing to Ireland who took the Six Nations title for the second year in a row. While restaurants saw an uplift of 5.7% according to new Barclays Consumer Spend data.
The data showed that spending at pubs increased 23% this Super Saturday1. While the volume of transactions at pub and bars increased 19% in comparison to an average Saturday in 2024. Restaurants also saw a boost, seeing an increase of 5.7 per cent versus the average Saturday so far this year, and experiencing a modest uplift of 2.2 per cent year-on-year.
The categories which saw an uplift in transaction volumes include:
- Pubs and Bars: Up 19 per cent, vs the average Saturday in 2024
- Restaurants: Up 5.7 per cent, vs the average Saturday in 2024
The news. comes after a challenging February; in which the Barclays Consumer Spend report showed that restaurant spending was down -13.4%, with many Brits opting to stay in instead of dine out. Growth in spending at bars, pubs and clubs in the month was at its lowest level (1.1%) since September 2022.
Karen Johnson, Head of Retail at Barclays, said, “Pubs and bars will undoubtedly be hopeful that Saturday’s result will set the tone for the rest of the year. With many major sporting events taking place this summer – including the Olympic Games, UEFA Euro 2024 and Wimbledon – we may see consumers’ non-essential spending bounce back as we approach the warmer months.”
1This figure is based on merchant data from Barclays’ acquiring business – i.e. transactions made at businesses who accept payments using Barclays technology
2Consumer card spending data i.e. Barclays debit card and Barclaycard credit card transactions
In February Star Pubs & Bars, the pub arm of HEINEKEN UK, revealed that total sales across the opening weekend in its estate increased by 42% as rugby fans flocked to the best place to watch live sport, their local pub.
With afternoon and evening games on the Saturday, the data suggests that punters chose to spend much of the day in their local, with sales of food up by nearly a third.
In terms of drinks, sales were up 43% with pints being the drink of choice with an uplift of 14%.
It was alcohol free beer though that proved to have the biggest change versus the year before, with a massive increase of 49% versus last year’s Six Nations opening weekend.
Lawson Mountstevens, managing director of Star Pubs said, “It’s clear that the Six Nations has given a much-needed boost to the great British pub.