Half of consumers went out for a drink in March, and on-premise visitations aren’t expected to slow down despite economic uncertainty, according to NIQ’s on-premise marketing research arm CGA.
CGA’s latest consumer survey results marked a three percentage point increase versus the amount of consumers who went out for a drink in February. Even more consumers (77%) went out to eat in March (flat versus February).
Looking ahead, 77% of consumers said they plan to go out to eat in the next month, and 47% said they plan to go out for a drink.
Note, CGA’s survey was conducted before President Trump announced sweeping tariffs, including a minimum 10% baseline duty on goods from most countries.
With potential tariffs looming at the time of CGA’s survey, the firm asked consumers “with the recent economic situation, and after covering living expenses (e.g. bills, mortgage, taxes), which of the following do you plan to prioritize for spending of the next three months.”
After domestic vacations and clothing – each selected by 27% of consumers – “regular” visits to bars and restaurants was the next most popular selection, along with home improvement, each selected by 24% of consumers. “Day trips” including “sport and leisure activities” was the fifth most popular pick (22%), followed by special occasion visits to bars and restaurants (21%), entertainment packages (19%), and vehicles, international vacations and live entertainment (each 17%).
Additionally, 17% said they do not plan to change their spending habits in any areas.
One-third of survey respondents also said they would go out to bars and restaurants “even if they are short on cash.” That percentage increased to 41% for consumers aged 35-54, and 50% for consumers aged 21-34.
About three-fifths of consumers (61%) said they “stick to a specific amount they will spend when on a night out.” Again, that percentage increases for specific age groups, including to 66% for consumers aged 35-54 and 71% for consumers aged 21-34.
Over the past three months, the majority of consumers who visited the on-premise (72%) did so for a casual meal. A “special occasion” was the second largest driver for visits (42%), followed by relaxed/quiet drinks (39%), after-work drinks (25%), a formal meal (24%), to watch live sports on television (22%) and “high tempo drinks” or “a big night out” (12%).
CGA previously dove into how the first round of the NCAA men’s and women’s basketball tournaments affected on-premise visits in March. Insiders can catch up the report, which also includes St. Patrick’s Day data.
Looking ahead to the rest of the year, just over half of consumers plan to “prioritize going out” for casual meals (55%), followed by special occasions (45%), relaxed/quiet drinks (26%), to watch live sports (16%), formal meals (14%), after-work drinks (13%) and high tempo drinks (8%).
CGA also explored purchasing habits for on-premise bev-alc consumers – including predicted changes to spending across beer, wine, spirits and cocktails – and found that a higher percentage of consumers are planning to switch to more expensive brands in the coming months, than the percentage of consumers who plan to trade down to cheaper alternatives.
Among beer drinkers, 72% said they do not plan to change the brands they buy over the next three months, while 19% said they plan to buy more expensive brands than they do now, and 9% said they plan to buy cheaper brands. Similar responses were recorded for wine (71% no change, 19% more expensive brands, 10% cheaper brands).
In spirits, about two-thirds of consumers (67%) said they are not planning to change brands, while 19% said they plan to explore higher priced items and 14% said they plan to switch to lower priced items. For cocktails, 75% anticipate no change in brands, while 13% plan to seek pricier items and 11% plan to buy cheaper ones.