BLACKBX, the Scottish start up that helps public venues turn their guest Wifi into a marketing platform, today released the results of new research into the habits of people in the UK going out pubs, bars, cafés and restaurants – having surveyed more than 2,000 British residents.
The report shows that the British public are stuck in a routine of going to the same places repeatedly, that Londoners are surprisingly sociable patrons, that young people are ditching the local pub (as well as clubs) and that venue owners must do more to entice new customers. The report also dispels the myth that people are more likely to leave a bad review that a good one.
Key findings include:
- More than a third of Brits (38%) say they only try new venues to eat or drink less than once a year. The majority only try a new venue every six months or less
- Half of respondents said that they only try new venues when given a prompt (eg. a promotional deal or recommendation) – yet 78% of people said that their favourite pub/bar puts little or no effort into marketing new deals and events
- Millennials are the most regular pub and club patrons – gen Zs are the least: 25-34yr olds are the most likely to have a pub they consider their ‘local’ (85%) vs just 46% of 18-24yr olds. 30% of 25-34yr olds say they regularly go to clubs, vs just 7% of 18-24yr olds
- Despite its reputation for being an unsociable city, Londoners are far more likely to have a pub they consider their local (77% vs a national average of 57%) and are the second most likely to know their pub landlords and restaurant owners (47%) only behind Northern Ireland (50%). Londoners are also more likely to try new venues more often – 69% said they try a new venue every month or whenever a new venue opens
- One in five people said they only go to their favourite venue on special occasions
- Contrary to popular belief, people seem to be just as willing to leave online reviews for positive eating experiences as well as negative. 36% of people said they had reviewed their favourite restaurant, but roughly the same percentage (35%) had left an online review for their worst eating experience
BLACKBX also wanted to understand people’s experiences of connecting to guest wifi in these venues and their dependence on data. Related findings include:
- 62% of people said they feel better when they are connected to public wifi, even if they have data remaining
- 33% of women said they could go longer without sex than they could data
- A quarter of men surveyed said they could forgo love and friendship for longer than data
- More than half of respondents reported experiencing problems connecting to public wifi in the past – many reported problems with passwords not working (25%), not being able to find the right password (23%) and registration processes taking too long (22%)
