Hospitality Sales down 9%
According to analysis from S4labour, the people, productivity and payroll software provider for hospitality, like-for-likes fell last week by 9.6% compared to the same week in 2019. Drink sales were down 17.7%, with food sales down 0.8% compared to the same week in 2019.
Trading in London continues to lag with last week’s sales down 24.1%. This was largely attributed to drinks sales, which declined by 30.7%, with food sales down 12.6%.
Non-London sites traded below 2019 levels by 6.3%, with drinks sales falling 14%. However, food sales were slightly up 1%.
S4labour’s Chief Innovation Officer, Richard Hartley commented, “despite the excellent weather, there are a number of factors that are currently suppressing sales. With circa 5% of the adult population being forced into isolation last week, there is going less people able to get out to eat and drink. While the heat drove stronger performance for rural sites, London’s limited outside space made it difficult to capitalise alfresco conditions. This coupled with the labour crisis, exacerbated by the Covid App, made last week a particularly challenging environment for hospitality. While we wait in anticipation for what we hope will be a great week with restrictions being lifted, these figures show that there is still a long way to go to fully restore consumer confidence.”