People prefer to drink at home, says Mintel survey

Sitting at home with a beer in front of the telly has been confirmed as a more popular pastime than a visit to the local.

According to the Mintel Lifestyles Survey 2003, the popularity for drinking at home has been growing at a faster rate than going to the pub for a night out - a trend that many in the trade are striving to reverse.

Bill Crossfield, licensee of the Kent Hounds in Well Hill, Chelsfield, Kent, agreed that home drinking was rising at his expense.

"I'm in a rural area and what with the drink driving laws and cross-Channel shopping, things are getting worse," he said. "Because of this more people are drinking at home and it is very worrying for me."

Greene King Pub Co is one of many companies actively driving people back into pubs.

Managing director Neil Gillis, who is responsible for brands including Hungry Horse and Appleton's said, "Our main competitors are the microwave, fridge and supermarket and we want to bring people back into the pub.

"We're doing this by bringing families together in a true pub environment. Customers are realising that they are hard-pushed to eat as cheaply at home."

The Mintel results confirm figures from The Publican Newspaper/Britvic Soft Drinks Pub Goers' survey​ in 2001 which showed that the rise in home drinking was costing pubs.

Nearly half of those surveyed (46 per cent) said they drank at home, compared to 41 per cent who drank alcohol in a pub, bar or club. Thirty-two per cent admitted that they were going to the pub less than before.

Despite the findings, Karen Kelshaw, spokeswoman for the British Beer & Pub Association, took a more optimistic view. "Figures show that less money is being spent in the pub but people are not going to stop going to the pub," she said.

A clear North/South divide has been highlighted over the amount of cash people spend on alcohol.

According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, northerners spend more on alcohol than southerners with the Scottish spending the most on alcohol a week.

A further survey by Scottish Courage and Brewers Fayre also found that northern men drink considerably more than their southern counterparts, by an average of six pints a week.