Greene King today release their Leisure Spend Tracker for October.
It shows that for the second month running the average British household spent less.

The figure show that

• In October the average household spent 10% (£21) less on total leisure compared with the same month last year, spending £188.
• Year on Year spending on Other Leisure (bowling, concerts, sports events etc) was down 22% (£19) in October.
• The biggest regional change in Out of Home Leisure spend was in London and the South East, where spending was down 19% (£39) compared with 7% (£14) in the rest of Britain.
• There was an 8% fall in Drinking Out Spending year on Year.
• The report also looked at how consumers where thinking about their spending at Christmas, an on average Brits said they would be spending less on gifts as well as out of home food a drink this festive period.

Greene King’s Commercial Director, Steve Jebson, said “It has been another tough month for leisure spend, falling 10% compared to October last year. With Christmas just around the corner, Brits yet again limited their spend last month. And, with consumer confidence still fragile, it is not surprising that many are hesitant to loosen the purse strings.”

With the festive season just a few weeks away, Greene King asked whether consumers intend to spend more or less over the Christimas Period. Steve said ” We found that 26% of Brits plan to spend less on Christmas gifts this year, compared to 17% who plan to spend more. This trend is also reflected in the amount expected to be spent on eating and drinking out with 27% intending to spend less and 15% who expect to spend more.”

My customers are already reporting that trading is very flat at the moment which seems to bear out Greene King’s findings.