UKHospitality Scotland said it expects strong demand from fans watching fixtures in their local, despite later than usual kick off times.
Join our new WhatsApp channel: The Morning Round-Up
Get the biggest pub trade stories straight to your phone. Listen to our one-minute daily news briefing and receive breaking news, exclusives and sector updates throughout the day....just remember to turn notifications on in top right corner!
Scotland begins its campaign against Haiti in the early hours of Sunday morning (14 June), with the majority of local authorities across Scotland having provided licensing extensions to accommodate the tournament.
The extensions come after previous research linked later opening hours in Aberdeen to higher levels of reported crime and alcohol-related ambulance call outs, although operators have argued licensed venues can offer a more controlled environment for major sporting occasions.
Sales growth
Analysis of transaction insight from UKHospitality data partner Reward found Scotland games during Euro 2024 delivered 38% year on year sales growth.
The data was based on anonymised transaction and merchant information from Reward’s hospitality intelligence datasets, tracking spending behaviour across more than 160,000 hospitality venues in the UK.
Leon Thompson, executive director of UKHospitality Scotland, said: “Scotland’s return to the World Cup after 28 years is a huge moment for the country.
“While the Tartan Army is well represented in Boston and Miami, there will be millions of Scots heading to their local to cheer the team on and celebrate Scotland’s rightful return to the biggest footballing stage.
“We saw fantastic support for our locals during the Euros, delivering a 40% sales boost, and I expect we will see similar scenes in pubs across Scotland, even in the early hours of the morning.
“It will be a much-needed boost for our pubs and bars, which continue to grapple with cost challenges, so I urge as many Scots as possible to brave the late kick off and head to the pub for the games.”
Trading opportunity
The findings come as pubs across the UK prepare for a major World Cup trading opportunity.
Previous research found more than a third of consumers planning to watch the tournament expect to do so from a local pub, bar or hospitality venue, with 9.3m British consumers forecast to watch at least one game in a pub, bar or restaurant this summer.
Separate analysis from the British Beer and Pub Association (BBPA) suggested pubs could benefit from a £275m beer sales boost during the tournament if England reach the final, with around 55m additional pints poured across the competition.
Operators have also been urged to focus on pre match demand, capacity management and speed of service, with earlier data suggesting the strongest commercial window is likely to come before kick off and during half time.
