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The amount of money which is being spent per head on visits to restaurants has risen by 7.3 per cent to £17.06, according to new research. Zolfo Cooper's study of 2,000 consumers also found that the average spend in pubs has gone up 4.2 per cent to £15.30 during the course of the year. So this is great news for the hospitality industry you would think, or is it? Well the answer is probably not, as this increase is not going into profit, but instead is the result of increased taxes and other running costs. What is more, the frequency with which customers are going out to eat has decreased, probably as a direct consequence of the increased cost of doing so. Paul Hemming, a partner at Zolfo Cooper and head of the corporate advisory services division, said: "It is the increasing cost of going out that is driving the increased spend rather than an extra indulgence by the consumer." If customers feel that they are spending more for a meal and restaurants feel that they are making less then the situation is not a good one and it is only set to get worse. Mr Hemming said: "The reality is that over the five consumer studies we have undertaken since summer 2010 each wave has seen a further drop in overall leisure spend. "This means the market continues to shrink which will inevitably lead to more business failures." Any further increases in tax and alcohol duty are going to make customers even less inclined to have meals out, making it harder for restaurants and pubs to make any profit. Despite this the study also found that 59 per cent of people are against a minimum price per unit being brought in on alcohol and 60 per cent believe that supermarkets should continue to be allowed to discount beer and wine. This undercuts restaurants and pubs, meaning that more people are likely to stay in and have a beer as opposed to supporting local hospitality establishments.
