Hospitality like-for-like sales up 9.1% but 45% of sites remain closed resulting in total sales decline of 25%.
According to an analysis of more than 150 organisations that use S4labour’s workforce management software, sites that were open during the first week of a relaxation in rules, had strong sales, with like-for-likes up 9.1% compared to the same week in 2019. However, the analysis of the figures reveals a mixed and complex picture, with 45% of open sites trading at 90% or worse than 2019 of sales in same week in 2019.
In addition to this, 45% of hospitality sites were not open at all last week, resulting in an overall decline in hospitality sales of 25% compared to the same week in 2019.
Operators able to open, benefited from significant pent-up demand and weather conditions that, despite starting with a scattering of snow Monday morning, were generally dry and mild. The research suggests that the general public in England were keen to return to the beer garden for a drink, with open wet-led sites boosted by a 13.2% uplift in sales compared to the same week in 2019, while open sites that are food focused seeing an uplift of 7%.
Chief Product Office, Richard Hartley commented “with 45% of sites closed and only half of these sites able to trade at an equal or better level than 2019, these figures on re-opening week are far from a waving flag of success for current restrictions, rather an indicator of significant lost potential for operators.
S4labour’s Chief Customer Officer, Sam Wignell, added that “achieving 9.1% growth under trading restrictions that significantly reduced capacity to outside only, as well as the length of the trading day, is an indicator of what could have been for the industry. Those with outside space were able to capitalise on pent-up demand and many had a very successful week, but this will naturally dissipate as time goes on, further hitting those penalised for not having outside space.
