New data released revealed that sales at well-established British restaurants, bars, and pubs grew by 1.5% in October when compared to the same month last year which was an increase of 4.3% on October 2019.

This data could be positively interpreted considering that sales have surpassed pre-pandemic numbers for nine consecutive months. However, due to inflation, sales are notably behind 2021 and 2019.

The report suggests that pubs had the most successful performance with year-on-year sales growth of 6.4%. On the other hand, restaurants and bars sales were in fact down in October 2021, by 3.6% and 12.7%, respectively.

This scenario is a result of persistent increases in fuel, energy, food, property and other costs of living that are forcing customers to reduce the amount of money they spend on leisure, especially eating out at restaurants.

But as we approach the festive season, the hospitality industry has an opportunity to regain some of the growth that has been lost over the last couple of years.