Restaurants continue to outperform retail sector in June

Consumers are continuing to spend more money on eating out than they are on the retail sector, with total sales in June up nearly 5%, a survey has revealed.

The monthly Coffer Peach Business Tracker found total sales in the pub and restaurant sector increased by 4.7% compared with the same time last year, with like-for-like sales up 3.9%.

In comparison, spend in the retail sector for the month was up by just 1.5% according to the survey, which monitors sales performance across 23 major pub and restaurant operators.

Peter Martin of Peach Factory, the market consultancy which produces the sector tracker in partnership with KPMG, UBS and the Coffer Group, said the increase was partly due to a lack of major sports tournaments this June.

“The football World Cup in June last year had a mixed impact. While drinks-led pubs in general saw an upside, restaurants generally suffered sales drops. Big sporting events are a mixed blessing - and even pubs didn’t perform as well as they had hoped last year,” Martin said.

“That said, the increase this June shows an underlying resilience in consumer spending on eating and drinking out, which seems less fickle than retail. While it would be premature to forecast any significant upturn for the market, it remains solid,” he added.