Half of Britain’s major cities show negative sales versus 2019

Out-of-home food and drink sales are in growth in only half of Britain’s 10 biggest city centres, as five major cities are experiencing negative sales in the latest four weeks versus the same time period in 2019.

According to data from CGA and Wireless Social, new challenges facing the sector are beginning to take their toll.

London’s vibrancy was towards the bottom of the list. However, during the period this was mainly driven by a negative sales performance (-7% versus 2019), rather than guest log-ins. CGA said that an influx of tourists in the capital over its peak period is likely why London has instead seen a spike in log-ins.

The report also saw last month’s top city of Leicester drop to fifth place, although Birmingham climbed from fifth place to second place. 

Meanwhile, Glasgow once again takes the top spot, driven by its sales performance. Bristol has also continued to rank highly, driven by increased log-ins which has contributed to its overall vibrancy ranking position of third.

Overall, sales across the top five cities in the vibrancy rankings for July 2022 were between 0.2% to 6.2% higher than in the corresponding four-week period in 2019.

However, CGA said that with inflation at nearly 11%, it will be difficult for this to constitute growth in real terms, which is the case for each city in the report.

Chris Jeffrey, CGA client director, said: “It’s clear that despite the sales growth seen across some cities, the sector is still facing substantial challenges in the form of inflation, rising costs, staffing shortages and supply chain issues.

“With half of the cities on the vibrancy ranking report seeing negative sales versus 2019 for the first time since P01 and cost of living concerns beginning to impact consumer spending, it looks likely that challenging trading conditions will continue to affect the sector.”

Julian Ross, founder and CEO of Wireless Social, added: “While it’s encouraging to see growth in some parts of the country, the economic climate continues to be extremely concerning for hospitality businesses.

“The cost-of-living and energy crises rage on, with seemingly no clear objectives or support measures in place or even on the table – without this intervention, the industry is heading for an extremely bleak autumn and winter. Support for our sector is desperately needed, and it’s needed now.”