According to an analysis of more than 100 organisations that use S4Labour software, operators faced challenging condition during the month of January. Against the back drop of Dry January, Blue Monday and Veganuary, there was a slight 0.9% drop in like-for-likes sales. Following on from a strong Christmas period, wet-led venues bore the brunt of the fall, with falls in drink sales of 2.8% and a slight drop of 1.8% in food sales.
Food-focused businesses fared better, where the analysis shows year on year sales grew by 1.0%, made up predominantly by a 1.3% uplift in food sales and aided by a 0.6% increase in drink sales.
There were real gains to be had on New Years Day this year, where operators saw an overall 5.7% increase in sales over the same day the previous year. This figure was boosted by particularly strong food sales in both drink and food focused business.
