A majority of consumers plan to celebrate Mother’s Day outside of bars and restaurants, according to the latest impact report from CGA, a NIQ-powered on-premise market research firm.
CGA surveyed 1,600 legal-drinking-age (LDA) consumers in four key states – Texas, New York, Florida and California – between April 23 and April 26. All respondents had visited an on-premise establishment within the past three months.
One-third of consumers surveyed by CGA plan to visit the on-premise for Mother’s Day next week (May 12), a 10-point decline from the 43% who planned to venture out in CGA’s 2023 survey. The most recent percentage goes up to 40% when including consumers between 21 and 34 years old.
Cocktails are expected to be the preferred bev-alc drink of choice, according to 29% of respondents planning to visit bars and restaurants, followed by table wine (24%), beer (24%), sparkling wine (16%) and tequila (16%). Consumers are also expected to visit fine dining establishments the most (37%), followed by casual dining chains (32%) and independent restaurants (29%).
Despite the year-over-year decline, Mother’s Day is still expected to be the most popular holiday of the month for on-premise visitations – although Memorial Day expectations have yet to be shared. CGA shared predictions for Cinco De Mayo (Sunday, May 5) and The Kentucky Derby (Saturday, May 4), which both occurred over the weekend.
Just under one-third of respondents (32%) said they plan to visit the on-premise for Cinco de Mayo. That percentage increases to 46% when including only 21-34 year olds.
Nearly half of those planning to celebrate in the on-premise plan to consume tequila (47%), followed by beer (41%), cocktails (30%), any shots (24%) and vodka (22%). Neighborhood bars are expected to be the most frequented (34%), followed by sports bars (29%) and casual dining chains (28%).
Just over one-tenth of consumers (11%) said they planned to visit the on-premise for the Kentucky Derby. Beer was the most popular drink of choice (38%), followed by whiskey (28%), vodka (26%), tequila (22%) and cocktails (22%).
Nearly two-fifths of those planning to celebrate (38%) said they would visit sports bars, followed by neighborhood bars (32%) and casinos (25%). The latter is likely due to the more than half of respondents (58%) planning to visit the on-premise also planning to participate in sports betting for the event. That percentage increases to 69% when including only consumers aged 21-34.
Beer Top Pick for Summer Drink, Above Soft Drinks
About four-in-five consumers (79%) visited the on-premise for food-led occasions in the past month, while more than two-in-five (45%) visited for drink-led occasions. That frequency is expected to stay the same over the next month, with 77% planning to go out for food-led occasions, and 47% planning to go out for drink-led occasions.
A majority of respondents (39%) said they visit bars and restaurants once or twice a week, followed closely behind by once or twice a month (37%). Nearly one-fifth (18%) visit three-to-fives times a week, followed by 6% every day or almost every day.
Three-in-10 consumers (29%) said they are visiting the on-premise more frequently than usual. The leading reason for more frequent visits was “treating myself” (44%), followed by wanting to try new places (35%), more events than usual (25%), wanting to support local businesses (23%), “have been able to save money recently” (21%) and want to visit while “I have enough disposable income” (19%).
Still, nearly as many consumers (25%) said they are visiting on-premise establishments less frequently than usual, with the driving force being cost of living increases (63%) and price increases in eating and drinking out (59%). Nearly half of consumers visiting less (49%) said they have less disposable income than usual, although that is down from 55% in CGA’s previous monthly survey. Consumers also cited “spending money on other things” (31%), friends and family not going out as much (18%) and “the atmosphere isn’t as good as usual when out” (6%).
One-fourth of respondents said their average spend per visit has increased, “mainly due to price increases.” One-fifth of respondents said their spend has decreased, with 73% adding that they are more “conscious of the money they’re spending and saving” – a five point increase from 68% in the previous survey.
Other reasons given for a decrease in spend include trying to save money (66%), choosing cheaper food (30%), drinking fewer drinks (27%) and no longer choosing additional food items (24%).
Looking ahead to the summer months, the majority of consumers (57%) plan to visit the on-premise the same as they do now, while 17% plan to visit more and 16% plan to visit less. The percentage of consumers planning to visit more increases to 35% when including only respondents between the ages of 21 and 34.
Of those planning to visit the on-premise this summer, the majority (41%) plan to drink beer above any other beverage – a shift from typical trends, where soft drinks are the No. 1 drink of choice. Soft drinks came second (32%), followed by cocktails (31%).
Of those planning to visit the on-premise, 50% plan to go in the early evening, followed by happy hour (40%), late evening/8 p.m. to 10 p.m. (28%, or 40% when only consumers aged 21-34).
Casual dining chains are expected to be the most frequented by consumers looking for a beverage (41%), followed by independent restaurants (36%), neighborhood bars (31%) and sports bars (31%). Despite beer’s popularity, brewpubs and taprooms ranked No. 10, with 18% of consumers planning to visit, behind fine dining restaurants (27%), street festivals (24%), hotel bars/restaurants (23%), rooftop bars (21%) and casinos (20%).