Wet weather contributes to higher spend on eating out
Despite disappointing weather during July, household spend on eating out was up as families sought to entertain their children.
According to the Greene King Leisure Spend Tracker, the average spend per household on eating out in July was £84.25, an 11% increase on the same period in 2014.
However, it was a 2% decrease on June's figures, while average spend on drinking out dropped 7% in July to £44.04, compared to the month before.
When asked about sporting preferences, just 12% of the 4,000 respondents said they planned to watch any forthcoming Rugby World Cup matches in a pub.
Fiona Gunn, Greene King's marketing director, said: "With the tournament being hosted in England for the first time since 1999, this competition has the potential to capture the hearts and minds of the British public. The tournament will be watched by local and international fans, which could prove a real boost for pubs across the country in September, especially if the home nations do well."
She added: "Strong year-on-year growth of 11% shows that poor weather failed to dampen the appetite for eating out among British households in July, but did limit the appeal of drinking out and other leisure, which both saw similar declines in spending of 4%. Despite a mixed picture, modest growth in overall leisure spending mirrors the ongoing resilience in consumer confidence despite underlying sources of uncertainty at home and abroad."
