Hospitality like-for-like sales in April were up 3.3% against last year’s levels, according to the latest S4labour report.

Operators have been facing squeezed consumer confidence and an increase to national living wage levels over the month. Although April’s statistics are still below the rate of inflation, its rate is the second fastest so far this year, so this growth is good news for the sector. 

London food sales were up 7.9% driving the capital’s overall uplift of 6.6%. Non-London was also led by food, with an increase of 4.5%. 

May will bring a big advantage and uplift in trading across its three bank holidays and warmer weather, with the Queen’s Jubilee weekend in 2022 bringing a 14% increase to week-on-week sales. 

Richard Hartley, S4labour’s Chief Growth Officer, said: “Amidst what is a tough period for the industry, these figures are positive. With three bank holidays in May, operators across the country will have much stronger trading as consumer interest in eating and drinking out is set to spike, particularly if the weather is good.”

Overall March sales show a decline of 1.8% compared to 2022, albeit with a 6.4% uplift in London despite rail strike disruption.

Rising prices continue to deter consumer spending, meaning like-for-like growth has slowed even more from 1.6% in February to -1.8% this month. March marks another consecutive month where this pattern is emerging, being the first this year to show negative year-on-year figures. December 2022 revealed an increase of 17% in like-for-like numbers, and January 2023 sat at a 4.1% growth compared to 2022.

London drink sales were up 8.9%, leading the capital’s 6.4% overall growth, but these figures sit against low 2022 statistics and higher prices, which indicates that volumes are down. Research also shows that there is a slight increase in the proportion of sites trading 7 days a week in 2023, compared to 2022, so there is an expectation that the numbers would be higher than they are.

Richard Hartley, Chief Growth Officer at S4labour, said: “The impact of inflation is paving the way for a challenging period, especially with labour increases coming into play next month.” From April, operators will have the task of maintaining their current margins by increasing takings, which will be no easy feat considering how much consumers’ disposable income is being squeezed.

February sales in Hospitality show little growth, as year-on-year increase sits at 1.6%, despite low 2022 statistics that were affected by Omicron.

Like-for-like growth has slowed significantly throughout 2023 so far. December 2022 saw an increase of 17%, followed by 4.1% in January and 1.6% in February.

The research also shows that there was a slight increase in the proportion of sites trading 7 days a week this year compared to last year.

Richard Hartley, Chief Growth Operator at S4labour, said: “It’s concerning to see little growth despite high rises in prices, indicating that volumes are down as consumer confidence continues to come under strain.”

December Like-for-Likes were up 17% compared to the same period in 2021. While the figure represents a significant increase on the previous year, December 2021 was marred by a wave of Omicron, washing out trade for many operators.

Despite rail strikes causing disruption for much of the capital, London sales were up 32%, with the increase being driven equally by food and drink boosts.

Outside of London, like-for-likes were up 15%, with food up 13% and drink up 16%.

The research, that compares sales performance of sites that traded for over 20 days in December 2021 and 2022 also identified a large number of operators that were not included in the figures as they were unable to trade at all, or to a very limited extent in 2021, meaning that real like for likes would be higher when taking 2021 closures into account.

Richard Hartley, Chief Innovation Officer at S4labour, commented, “Double digit increases will be a cause for celebration for the industry, however, the figures also put last year’s Christmas into stark perspective.”