Across the UK, we’ve seen a 24% increase in average weekly sales for Cafes and Coffee Shops in this current ‘tier 4’ lockdown vs the first lockdown that started last March.
Compared with the November 2020 lockdown, however, current average weekly sales are actually down 35%. That reflects the fact that the restrictions in November were seemingly the lightest of all.
Consistent trends
To confirm these suspicions, it’s important to look beyond Sales value and at other key metrics too. With this in mind, we’ve also compared the volume of stock being purchased in this current lockdown vs the March 2020 lockdown and found that current average stock volumes are also tracking above the first lockdown – up 24% on average. While, unsurprisingly based on what we saw earlier, current stock volumes are below the November 2020 lockdown (down 37%).
So whilst it was pictures and videos in the media that were initially doing the pressing on Government ministers to publicly question the need for a coffee meet up between individuals from different households, the data we are seeing here is now seemingly backing that up.
Regional differences
At a regional level, we are seeing a number of areas tracking ahead of the national 24% increase in terms of current coffee shop sales vs the first lockdown. This higher demand is likely down to the wider public having little to no other hospitality venues to visit. The top five areas tracking ahead of the national average are:
- Scotland: 43%
- West Midlands: 38%
- East Midlands: 36%
- North West: 35%
- South West: 33%
So, the devolved decision making in terms of lockdown rules in Scotland seems to have had little impact. While the Welsh government’s interventions, however, do seem to have had some effect with average weekly sales only up 3% in the current lockdown vs the March 2020 lockdown.
Coffee sales tell a story
Anecdotally you may have noticed for yourself the increased footfall on our streets, parks and other public spaces. And whilst we aren’t the experts at counting people walking or jogging around your local country park, our expertise at analysing wholesale data can help you paint a picture of what is happening more widely out in the world in these strange and difficult times.
Who would have thought a simple cup of coffee could tell us so much about rule compliance in a pandemic?
This information was compiled using SalesOut OneView, to find out how you could make data work for you, simply click here.
