Happy hour 'still important to pubs'

The survey by American Express shows that one in five people will take advantage of timed deals and promotions at least once a month, and getting a “good price” has grown more important for them since the last poll in 2012.

That’s especially true for food, with 63% saying they look for price, up from 41%, and 45% saying their favourite place to go for happy hour is a casual dining restaurant, the most popular style of venue. Under-35s, however, are more likely to favour sports bars, while only 18% chose the local pub.

Happy hour is definitely a social occasion with around half meeting up with friends and a quarter with family.

Visits​

Visits tend to grow through the week, rising from the 15% who patronise a happy hour on a Monday to 69% who tend to go on a Friday. Interestingly, 90% said they’d be likely to go along on a Saturday if such promotions were extended into the weekend.

Drinks​

Beer is the most common drinks order, followed closely by cocktails and mixed spirits. Surprisingly, perhaps, soft drinks score high, too, and deals on food are just as, if not more, important in determining whether customers will visit.

Supporting that, 45% had ordered a happy hour special in an unlicensed restaurant, and 78% expressed an interest in such offers.

Under-utilised​

“Operators may be overestimating the role of alcohol in happy hours,” concludes the American Express Market Briefing​ report. “They may want to consider adding more in the way of interesting non-alcohol beverages. It also recommends operators look into extending happy hours into the afternoons.

“Bounceback offers, such as a half-price drink in the afternoon for those who purchased one in the morning, or earlier in the week, are a particularly attractive way to boost traffic and sales in a still under-utilised day-part.”