The Greene King Leisure Spending Tracker reports that improved weather and the long Easter weekend have contributed to strong growth in British household leisure spending during April. This is also reflected in other recently published national economic data for the month. Average household leisure spending in April was £215, up 8% compared to March 2014, the highest levels seen since Christmas.
Key Highlights
- In April, the average British household leisure spend increased 8% to £215 (£5.5bn* total spend by GB households)
- Double digit growth in Eating Out and Drinking Out in April versus March
- Spending by the average household on leisure grew quicker in the rest of Britain than in London and the South East, increasing by £18 and £8 respectively
- Drinking Out spend by the average British household increased by 17% to £47, month on month, reaching its highest level since Christmas
Eating Out spend up
In April, the average British household increased spend by 12% on Eating Out against March; this activity has now seen consistent growth in spend for four months running. Eating Out spend grew substantially in April versus the previous month, with households spending an average £84, up 12% on March.
The latest report has revealed that the strong spend growth was driven by regions outside of London and the South East, rising by £18 and £8 respectively.
Steve Jebson, Greene King’s commercial director said: “As expected, special occasions through April gave Brits the perfect reason to go out and spend money. Growth in leisure spending was strongest outside London and the South East providing a promising early sign that the improvement in consumer confidence is spreading and that the economic recovery is taking hold throughout Britain.”
April’s report can be accessed via the dedicated website, www.gkleisuretracker.co.uk or via the Greene King website, www.greeneking.co.uk.
*Figure calculated by Greene King based on ONS data at last census stating a count of 25.7m households with at least one usual resident within Great Britain.
About the Greene King Leisure Spend Tracker
- The Greene King Leisure Spend Tracker is part of an omnibus questionnaire run on behalf of Greene King by research partner YouGov and analysed in conjunction with Trajectory Partnership.
- The Greene King Leisure Spend Tracker is the first of its kind in Britain and aims to provide greater insights into consumer discretionary spending.
- Focuses on spending patterns across leisure sectors such as eating out, drinking out, gambling, cinema-going, health & fitness and live events.
- Each month’s report is based on an online, nationally representative sample of c. 2,000 individuals (GB, 18+), reflecting the leisure behaviour of c. 2,000 households. Data has been collected every month since August 2013.