August is always an interesting month for footfall in cities. There is usually a drop off as people go on holiday, which is partly counter-balanced by visiting tourists, but clearly not this year. People are still avoiding central London, whilst Cardiff and Edinburgh have seen a slight recovery in their footfall.*

Footfall, whilst improving, may not be as high as usual in terms of like-for-likes, but best in class net promoter scores are as high as 96 for pubs, as some are clearly going above and beyond to ensure their customers are safe and satisfied.**

Yet what could make the experience better?

Nearly half (45.1%) of people think pubs are less relaxing now, with no real discernible difference in view across July (45.3%) and August (44.9%). 

Of these people, 42.1% feel entertainment can make the experience and atmosphere better.

Curiously, over two thirds of those who feel going to the pub is now more relaxing than before lockdown are men (66.1%). See graph 1.

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Some stand out age-range statistics

Over a third (36.3%) of those who strongly believe entertainment will improve the pub going experience are aged 18-24.

Whilst nearly half (41.6%) of those who strongly believe going to the pub is more relaxing now, compared to before lockdown, are aged 35-44 (see graph 2).

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Thoughts from our CEO, Adam Castleton:

"We're back to setting first impressions, which is an opportunity as much as it is a risk. The experience of these early visits are critical to shape consumer behaviours in the coming months. This week's stats show that entertainment can help to put a significant proportion of customers at ease. Think outside the box when it comes to entertaining your guests to make the experiences more engaging and memorable, like the football predictor game we built for Greene King's Season Ticket app."

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Surveys carried out July and August 2020. Sample sizes (n) >1000 people, UK Nat. Rep. with 95% confidence level & margin of error of +/- 5%.

*Wireless Social – COVID-19 UK Hospitality footfall tracker, 19th August 2020.

**KAM Media – The Customer Sentiment Tracker, 17th August 2020.