According to a new survey commissioned by late-night operator REKOM UK, the cost-of-living crisis continues to impact consumer social lives.
Since autumn 2022, over a third (34.9%) of respondents to the latest REKOM Night Index have reduced the number of times they go on a night out.
Nearly half (49.6%) of those said this was a result of increased general living costs, followed by more expensive bills (42.8%) and the need to save any spare disposable income (33%). Increased rent became a main concern for over a fifth (21.19%) of those aged 25-34.
Pricing remains the most important factor for consumers when deciding whether to go on a night out. However, this has increased by 6% since the last REKOM Night Index in March 2023. Other top priorities included cheap or no entry fees (27.8%) and good value drinks (27%).
REKOM UK acknowledged that young people are the most disadvantaged. The survey revealed that spending time with friends continues to be the most popular reason for going on a night out (61.4%), yet with financial pressures the main obstacle to choosing whether to go out, people’s social lives are taking the hit.
"Our Night Index continues to show that due to the challenging economic situation, young people are going out less and choosing more cost-effective ways of socialising as they look to save any spare cash they can for more pressing financial priorities such as rent or general living bills," says Peter Marks, chairman of REKOM UK. "This will have a knock-on effect for the whole of the night-time economy.
"You have to feel sorry, in particular for students. Having had their studies disrupted by Covid-19, a return to normality should be what they were looking forward to. To then face a cost-of-living crisis and huge inflationary pressures when it’s ‘their time’ as young adults is a real kick in the teeth. For those of us who were students once, we know that socialising and meeting new people is a really important part of going to university.
"We should take this survey as a warning to sit up and take note of what’s going on – we hope that these findings highlight to all those trading in the industry the importance of remaining flexible in responding to changes in consumer behaviours. People are predisposed to come together, have fun and spend time with friends – it’s up to us as an industry to ensure we provide the right environment and adapt our business model to enable that to happen."
