Euro 2024’s biggest winner is food delivery

UK food delivery services are profiting from Euro 2024, with year-on-year sales growth outperforming the 12 weeks prior by 5%, according to Hospitality Data Insights (HDI).

The research firm analysed card spending across its panel of 10.2 million people during the first few days of the football tournament (14-19 June), and further found that there was little performance difference between home nation games and the rest.

HDI’s business development director Mark Bentley posted on LinkedIn that pubs and bars have also seen a return to year-on-year growth during Euro 2024, but in this sector the England and Scotland games anchored key trading days. Here, pubs and bars saw an average 9% uplift during home nation games compared to the previous 12 weeks.

Weaker performance was seen during other games, with a sales reduction of 4% for pubs and bars, which took the overall average sales rise down to 2%.

“People are seemingly far more likely to stay at home and enjoy watching these matches from the comfort of their own home, highlighting the importance of England now raising their game for the pubs and bars sector,” Bentley wrote.

During the England versus Denmark game, HDI analysis also found that ‘surge pricing’, occurred in around 300 venues out of circa 5,000 managed pubs and bars, with the average price per pint increasing by 30p or more in 83% of the sites, and by 60p or more in 11% of sites.

The hospitality industry will get at least one more chance to benefit from an England game boost in their forthcoming quarter final against Switzerland this Saturday (6 July), after the team scraped an extra time 2-1 win against Slovakia last night.

Venues will be hoping that England will at least make the semi-finals, with home secretary James Cleverly granting a two-hour extension to licensing hours until 1am on match days if a home nation makes the final four.

Previous analysis from UKHospitality suggested the tournament could generate an extra £340m in sales for pubs and bars.

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