Alex Trelinski
BAR and restaurant customers are buying fewer drinks because of high prices according to a study by market analysts NielsenIQ.
The firm says that beverage consumption fell by 1.4% last year- the first fall since the Covid pandemic.
NielsenIQ says that the cost of living combined with price increases of an average 9% on beer and water has caused consumers to cut back.
Businesses are increasing their turnover because of price hikes, but purchases are falling.
The study says that bars and cafes suffered a drop in demand of 3.3%, while hotels and restaurants did so by 1.6%.
On the other hand, nightlife venue demand grew by 0.8% and franchised catering franchises offering fast food saw a 10% boost.
Celia Rodriguez from NielsenIQ said: “After the pandemic, people went out again enthusiastically and consumption recovered quickly, but now we are seeing that trend changing and demand falling.”
“And it will probably continue to be that way in 2024,” she predicted.
The most consumed drink continues to be beer, which accounts for nearly half of the expenditure on beverages (45.5%), followed by soft drinks.
55% of people say they go out for an aperitif on weekends, which has boosted categories such as vermouth (up 9%) and red wine (up 25%).
People are eating out less, with Spain recording a 2% fall in diners last year, mainly due to inflation, according to figures released a few days ago by Kantar Worldpanel.
A big change is the number of people deciding to go to a bar to watch a sporting event.
Kantar says that numbers in that group fell by 19% in 2023, with an overall lower spend of 31%.
“The time to visit the bar to watch football has gone down significantly,” it commented.
It’s study also confirmed the big rise in popularity of fast food outlets which have shown the only growth in the restaurant sector.
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