Managing Organisational Change

Cinema and theatre stable

Cinema and theatre attendance remained stable with 43% of consumers attending in January, ranking as the most popular surveyed non-food and drink led leisure activity.

Concerns about the impact of streaming services on public cinema-going appear to be tempered by positive results at the box office. Mintel’s Cinemas – UK, December 2019 Report forecast another strong year for the cinema industry following a record-breaking 2018. So far streaming has not hindered appetite to see films at the cinema, with operators’ investment in boosting the entire cinema experience paying off.

“In the winter I enjoy watching films, either at the cinema or at home and curling up with a good book”.

-Female, aged 35-44, socio-economic group DE

High street retailers are also turning to leisure activities in an attempt to boost footfall and the in-store customer experience. Selfridges became the first UK department store to open its own cinema in November 2019, in line with Mintel Trend Extend My Brand (see Mintel’s Analyst Insight Selfridges opens cinema at London flagship store – UK, January 2020).

Visitor attractions hit hardest by weather

Visitor attractions were among the hardest hit leisure operators over the winter, with total attendance down 11 percentage points since May 2019.

Mintel’s Visitor Attractions – UK, October 2019 Report found that weather was among the top three most important factors when deciding which visitor attraction to go to, chosen by 42% of visitors.

Many attractions operators hoped to boost attendance in the lull period with Christmas or winter-themed events running from November through to January.

Leeds’ Harewood House ran its annual Christmas event ‘A Night at the Mansion’ aimed at families with young children. The event ran for six weeks, offering cooking demonstrations, festive music performances and market weekends.

Notably, London’s Somerset House launched its annual skate rink. In 2019, the venue sought to attract a younger audience with a new series of Skate Lates, forming ‘the ultimate open-air party destination for music lovers’ with DJ’s playing rink-side (see Mintel’s Visitor Attractions – UK, October 2019 Report for more information on ‘Lates’).

FIGURE 3: Quarterly participation in non-food and drink leisure activities May 2019-January 2020

“How often have you done the following leisure activities in the past month?”

Base: internet users aged 18+

May-19

Jul-19

Oct-19

Jan-20

Sample

1,961

1,939

1,973

1,965

Visited a theme park

%

%

%

%

More than once

11

12

10

9

Once

9

10

7

8

Any participation (NET)

20

22

17

17

Not at all

80

78

83

84

May-19

Jul-19

Oct-19

Jan-20

Sample

1,961

1,939

1,973

1,965

Gone to a music concert or festival

%

%

%

%

More than once

11

13

11

9

Once

14

16

13

12

Any participation (NET)

25

29

24

21

Not at all

75

71

76

78

May-19

Jul-19

Oct-19

Jan-20

Sample

1,961

1,939

1,973

1,965

Gone to a live sporting event (eg football match)

%

%

%

%

More than once

13

12

12

11

Once

13

12

10

10

Any participation (NET)

26

24

22

21

Not at all

74

76

78

79

May-19

Jul-19

Oct-19

Jan-20

Sample

1,961

1,939

1,973

1,965

Gone to a nightclub/late-night bar

%

%

%

%

More than once

12

13

12

10

Once

13

11

9

10

Any participation (NET)

25

24

21

20

Not at all

75

76

79

80

May-19

Jul-19

Oct-19

Jan-20

Sample

1,961

1,939

1,973

1,965

Gone to visitor attractions (eg zoo, stately home, gardens)

%

%

%

%

More than once

14

14

13

10

Once

19

17

15

12

Any participation (NET)

33

31

28

22

Not at all

67

69

72

78

May-19

Jul-19

Oct-19

Jan-20

Sample

1,961

1,939

1,973

1,965

Visited a museum/art gallery/similar attractions

%

%

%

%

More than once

14

15

15

12

Once

19

17

15

14

Any participation (NET)

34

32

30

26

Not at all

66

68

70

75

May-19

Jul-19

Oct-19

Jan-20

Sample

1,961

1,939

1,973

1,965

Gone to the cinema/theatre

%

%

%

%

More than once

19

18

18

18

Once

25

24

24

25

Any participation (NET)

44

43

42

43

Not at all

56

57

58

57

May-19

Jul-19

Oct-19

Jan-20

Sample

1,961

1,939

1,973

1,965

Gone to a gym/leisure centre

%

%

%

%

More than once

22

22

23

21

Once

11

11

9

8

Any participation (NET)

33

33

32

29

Not at all

67

67

68

71

Source: Lightspeed/Mintel

Record number of consumers sign up to Veganuary

According to Veganuary, more than 400,000 Brits signed up for the movement in 2020, breaking records for previous years (250,000 in 2019; 10,000 in 2018) (see Mintel Analyst Insight Veganuary supports growing trend towards veganism – UK, January 2020).

Hundreds of new plant-based products and menu items were launched to coincide with the event, including the first Veganuary offerings from fast-food giants KFC (Impossible Burger) McDonald’s (Veggie Dippers) and Subway (Meatless Meatball Marinara). Sales in many cases exceeded expectations, with KFC reportedly selling one million vegan burgers in its first month.

Eating at a fast food restaurant help up strong through January, with total participation at 52%.

Greggs followed on from the huge success of its vegan sausage roll launch last January (2019) with the vegan steak bake in January 2020. Pret a Manger’s first vegan croissant launched in January 2020 and it reportedly sold twice as many of these as the non-vegan equivalent.

Grocery retailers also benefited from the surge, with Marks & Spencer’s vegan chicken Kievs selling well since launching in January 2020 (see Mintel Report Meat-free foods – UK, November 2019).

Takeaways remain strong

Third-party delivery service Deliveroo reported orders of vegan meals increased by 78% between January 2019 and 2020 (see Mintel Report Attitudes Towards Home Delivery and Takeaway – UK, March 2020). This month saw the highest ever demand for plant-based food, which likely contributed to participation in ordering takeaway or home delivery meals holding up strong at 52%.

Takeaway and home delivery restaurants also benefit from the consumer tendency to spend time at home, as revealed in Mintel’s qualitative research.

“My ideal winter meal would be at home with my family… I don't think there is anything better in winter than getting comfortable at home”.

-Male, aged 25-34, socio-economic group DE

Mintel’s Analyst Insight COVID-19’s impact on foodservice – UK, March 2020 highlighted how the food delivery will flourish in the coming quarter as consumers stay home. Partnering with third-party delivery services will be crucial to maximise immediate reach.

Dry January gains traction

Going to the pub for drinks dropped to 49% in January, down 6 percentage points since July 2019.

As alcohol moderation and Dry January gain traction among consumers, late-night bar operators must look to cater for this growing group.

Leading craft brewer BrewDog has tapped into this trend by opening the first permanent alcohol-free bar in London, BrewDog AF.

To celebrate its January 2020 opening, the bar offered free refills throughout the month, timed perfectly with Dry January. This appeals to the 13% of adults who have limited their alcohol intake during a particular month, rising to 19% of Londoners (see Mintel Analyst Insight BrewDog embraces the low-/no-alcohol trend in the on-trade – UK, January 2020 and Attitudes towards Low-and Non-alcoholic Drink – UK, August 2019 Report).

Mental health on the menu

Total participation for eating at a restaurant with table service dropped to 50% in January 2020, down 8 percentage points since July 2019.

Mintel’s Attitudes towards Healthy Eating – UK, February 2020 Report found that 3 in 10 UK adults would like their diet to improve their mood, rising to 39% of 16-34s.

Fitness club operator David Lloyd tapped into this with the launch of a two-day pop-up restaurant, “The Good Plates” in Shoreditch in January 2020. It aimed to boost mental wellbeing through its menu and décor. Dishes included vitamin E-rich monkfish with chickpeas and vitamin B-rich cauliflower.

With definitions of health broadening to include both mental and physical health, as highlighted by Mintel Trend Total Wellbeing, fitness club operators could take inspiration from this idea to offer a complete health service.

FIGURE 4: Quarterly participation in food and drink-related activities, May 2019-January 2020

“How often have you done the following leisure activities in the past month?”

Base: internet users aged 18+

May-19

Jul-19

Oct-19

Jan-20

Sample

1,961

1,939

1,973

1,965

%

%

%

%

Eaten at a restaurant with table service (excluding pubs)

More than once

28

28

29

25

Once

30

29

27

25

Any participation (NET)

58

57

56

50

Not at all

42

43

44

50

May-19

Jul-19

Oct-19

Jan-20

Sample

1,961

1,939

1,973

1,965

%

%

%

%

Eaten at a fast food restaurant

More than once

29

30

30

28

Once

27

28

27

24

Any participation (NET)

57

58

56

52

Not at all

43

42

44

48

May-19

Jul-19

Oct-19

Jan-20

Sample

1,961

1,939

1,973

1,965

%

%

%

%

Ordered a takeaway/home delivery

More than once

31

30

30

27

Once

27

27

26

25

Any participation (NET)

58

57

56

52

Not at all

42

43

44

48

May-19

Jul-19

Oct-19

Jan-20

Sample

1,961

1,939

1,973

1,965

%

%

%

%

Gone to the pub for a meal

More than once

32

32

32

25

Once

30

27

28

27

Any participation (NET)

62

59

59

52

Not at all

38

41

41

48

May-19

Jul-19

Oct-19

Jan-20

Sample

1,961

1,939

1,973

1,965

%

%

%

%

Gone to the pub for drinks only

More than once

28

31

32

28

Once

25

23

22

21

Any participation (NET)

53

55

53

49

Not at all

47

45

47

51

Source: Lightspeed/Mintel