Member Article

North East still going out, despite gloomy outlook

Despite the gloomy economic outlook, workers in the North East are still determined to enjoy themselves, and are going out to eat and drink far more than previously predicted.

According to the Taste of the Nation survey, conducted by Deloitte, Northern consumers predicted they would go out less due to financial constraints. However, latest research shows that they actually went out 13% more than they had indicated previously.

After surveying 3000 adult consumers across the UK on their eating habits, the results showed that six months ago Northerners were going out to eat or drink 18.3 times each month. This has risen to 20.6.

Visits to coffee shops in the region have also seen a significant increase of 15%.

This news reflects data predicting that the north will be the only area in the UK which will be be better off in six months time.

This growth has been attributed to two key consumer groups: 18-34 year olds and ‘frequent users’. The former are recorded as going out on average, 30.4 times a month, while the latter, who are predominantly male, go out for a drink at least twice a week.

Paul Feechan, Partner for Consumer Business for Deloitte in the North East comments: “Despite a gloomy outlook, the eating and drinking out market has bucked the trend over the last six months.

“Whilst an element of the growth can be attributed to seasonality and the welcome boost provided by a late summer, these latest findings demonstrate the continuing resilience of the going out market and are a reflection of the importance of the sector for the UK
consumer.”

While these figures show a positive trend in the region, Mr Feechan believes that the coming months could still be challenging.

He added: “Consumers are still regularly going out and those operators that continue to be innovative and tailor their offer accordingly should continue to prosper.

“With the continued rise in the number of outlets and brands being introduced, the going out market will continue to be highly competitive.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .