City dwellers more likely to have a pub they consider a ‘local’

21-May-2019 - Last updated on 21-May-2019 at 11:28 GMT

Pub customs: city dwellers are allegedly more likely to call a pub their ‘local’ and know its landlord than town or village residents

A report by Edinburgh-based Wi-Fi provider BlackBX has revealed that two thirds of pub customers in cities consider a pub their ‘local’ compared to just over half of people living in villages and towns.

BlackBx’s survey of more than 2,000 Brits titled Social Routines and Connectivity, delves into how the modern UK consumers interact with pubs, bars and restaurants, and what emotional connections they share with the venues.

On average, 57% of respondents claimed that they visit a pub they would call their ‘local’ – rising to 68% for people living in cities compared to 51% and 53% of respondents residing in villages and towns respectively.

Moreover, according to the survey’s findings, Millennials are more likely to say they had a local than any other age group, with 85% of 25 to 34-year-olds maintaining the pub tradition compared to only 46% of 18 to 24-year-olds and 45% of over-65s.

Defining a ‘local’

According to BlackBx’s findings, just over one third (35%) of pubgoers claim that their ‘local’ isn’t the pub closest to their home, with 55% of respondents claiming that being a regular makes them feel like part of a community.

Yet despite this, only 39% of respondents said that they knew the owners of their local pubs, bars, restaurants of cafés – with only 13% of those who said they didn’t claiming that they’d like to.

Despite a reputation for being antisocial, Londoners were among those most likely to know the operator of their local, second only to Northern Ireland, while only one in five people in East Anglia said they knew their local landlord.

t5 copy — Responses to 'do you know the owners/landlords of any of your local pubs, bars, restaurants or cafes?'

Creatures of habit

While BlackBX found that one in five British pubgoers only visit their favourite pub, bar or restaurant on special occasions, one third of those surveyed (33%) claimed they visit their local at least once a week – which broke down as 16% who visit ‘about once a week’ and 17% who ‘visit twice a week or more’.

Of those surveyed, 65% said they never or rarely try new venues without reading a review or recommendation from a friend, while just over half (54%) stated that their perfect night out is to a venue they know extremely well.

However, more than one in 10 pubgoers admitted they never try new food and drink venues, while almost one in five venture to a new watering hole less than once a year.

More than three quarters (78%) of those surveyed claim that their favourite venue makes little or no effort to attract new customers or promote new deals despite three quarters of pubgoers quizzed by BlackBX stating they were either likely, extremely likely or certain to use a free drink or meal voucher on their birthday.