The Jubilee weekend is expected to give a boost of more than £ 6bn to the main streets and hospitality companies as the British take advantage of the four-day break to enjoy street parties and evenings.
Partygoers are expected to spend more than £ 2bn on food and beverage supplies alone, while pubs, bars and restaurants are expected to raise £ 3bn on sales, the research suggests, as the two days holidays are combined with medium-term breaks for most schools. in England and Wales.
About a fifth of the population is expected to join a street party, according to the Opinium and Vouchercodes report, which is expected to spend about £ 600 million on decorations and souvenirs, as retailers tempt shoppers with the questionable delights of gnomes in the form of a queen, corgi balloon, and Union Flag.
The platinum anniversary has sparked a load of themed equipment to take advantage of the party atmosphere after more than two years of pandemic restrictions imposed by friends and family to keep apart. Laura Ashley said sales of her cake stands and dinner sets had more than quadrupled this week as households prepared for the meetings.
Meanwhile, Pets at Home saw a 31% increase in sales of pet candies such as “pawty cakes” and “garden party dog food” with strawberry and vegetable scent, as well as chicken.
Despite concerns about family budgets amid sharp rises in energy bills and the cost of the weekly store, the long weekend is expected to see an 8% increase in visitors to shopping destinations during the week until on the holiday weekend, according to Shopper analysts. Springboard monitoring group, with the main streets and malls facing each other better.
UKHospitality, the British Beer and Pub Association and Hospitality Ulster said they expected almost £ 400 million more to be spent on pubs, bars, restaurants and other hospitality venues than on a normal Thursday to Sunday in May.
“We feel that there is a real accumulated desire among the population to go out and enjoy,” the trade organizations said in a joint statement. They added that companies continued to face large cost increases, a staff crisis and an increase in payback, but the four days “would do wonders for revenue and employee morale.”
“Finally, our besieged sector is able to wait for the kind of trading period that will give it a massive boost as the long road to post-pandemic recovery begins,” the four agencies said.
Supermarkets had already enjoyed a boost ahead of the mid-term as food sales rose in the week to May 21 after months of falls according to market analysts Nielsen.
Lisa Hooker of PwC advisory firm said: “Despite the significant drop in consumer confidence shown by our most recent consumer sentiment survey, a couple of difficult years combined with the feeling good to celebrate with family and friends could see positive results for grocery stores at the top.
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However, Clore Black, an analyst at Shore Capital, said it would likely be a “short-term boost in sales”, adding: “With food inflation between 6% and 8%, volumes are demonstrably higher. low “.
Official figures show that the additional holidays of previous jubilee years have led to sharp reductions in global economic output or GDP in the UK, as the benefits of rising consumer spending do not outweigh the costs of closing business. day.
Retailers and hotel owners expect a slowdown in trade by the end of the summer, as families return from the reserved summer holidays when the economic outlook was better and they find themselves with higher bills waiting at the door .
Revealing the highest level of food price inflation in a decade on Wednesday, Helen Dickinson, head of the British Retail Consortium’s trade body representing all major retailers, said: “It is likely to get worse before it gets better. to consumers with prices. It continues to rise and a new leap in energy costs will come in October. “