The Six Nations and FA Cup action boosted footfall in venues, despite a drop in volume sales compared to last year, Oxford Partnership revealed.
While total volume sales for the weekend fell by 7.5% against 2024, the Six Nations, volume sales in week two of the tournament grew by 9.8% compared to the pre-Six Nations Friday to Sunday period.
According to the insight experts, an estimated 29.4m pints were sold from Friday to Sunday with the average pub pouring 776 pints if draught beer and cider, generating around £3,940 in revenue.
In terms of regions, London and the north-west led volume sales with the average pub serving 77 to 85 additional pints over the weekend.
Regional breakdown
However, the south-west, south-east and Anglia underperformed, which brought down England’s average.
Moreover, Scotland outperformed expectations, buoyed by another strong Six Nations weekend while Wales struggled.
Stout sales across the period rose by 14.5% compared to 2024 while core lager saw a drop of 15.7%.
Moreover, world lager, world 4%, premium lager and core lager all saw a decrease, which indicated a growing preference for darer beers during rugby season, particularly in pubs screening the Six Nations matches, according to Oxford Partnership.
Better weekend
Elsewhere, the the FA Cup round four fixtures featuring the Premier League clubs contributed to the 18% increase in Sunday football.
Pubs showing both the Six Nations and FA Cup benefitted from longer dwell times and greater overall sales.
Oxford Partnership CEO Alison Jordan said: “The data shows the enormous value live sport brings to the on-trade.
“While overall sales were down versus last year, venues showing the Six Nations and FA Cup fixtures saw stronger footfall, longer dwell times and a much better weekend overall.
“Looking ahead, operators must continue to leverage live sports as a key driver for trade, especially as we enter the latter stages of these tournaments.”
Previous data from Oxford Partnership showed the opening weekend of the Six Nations saw more than 16m pints poured.
