Unveiling the Insights: a Look into Student Hangout Preferences

Greetings! We are thrilled to share with you some intriguing findings from our very own research project undertaken in May/June 2023 and delivered with the help of Savanta. This sheds light on the discerning preferences of the student community when it comes to understanding the main drivers behind visiting food and beverage settings on and off campus. Let’s delve into the data and explore the valuable insights that could prove beneficial to your venue!

Emphasising Variety: But Drinking Scene Still Strong

More than two-thirds of students visit pubs and bars weekly. Our survey also revealed a whopping 87% of students last visited a pub/bar serving food, while 63% also visited alcohol-free cafés. This certainly highlights the importance of diversifying offerings to cater to an increasingly broader range of preferences, especially as the relationship and attitude that young people have towards alcohol might vary; students don’t always choose locations that serve alcohol (or even food in 38% of visits). However, we still see a vibrant drinking scene with a significant portion (75%) regularly drinking alcohol when at a pub/bar. It’s not last orders yet for UK students!

Cost (unsurprisingly) top factor – but there is some good news!

Cost, location, and food choice emerged as the top three factors influencing students’ decisions when choosing a pub, bar, or café generally. With 69% considering cost as a decisive factor (more so post 9 pm), and 51% emphasising location (I.e., close by and convenient), venue operators are (still) under pressure to cater to the budget-conscious and convenience-seeking segment. However, the good news is that students prioritise food choices more at lunchtime (rising from 32% to 47% overall), indicating the significance of offering a diverse and appealing menu.

Ethical/sustainable: Food quality is less of a factor (during the cost-of-living crisis)

Another surprising take-out from our research is that young people will ditch their ethics, with only 16% citing food quality(e.g. ethical, sustainable, free-range, organic), as a top factor when choosing which Pub/Bar/Cafe to go to. However, this does increase slightly at lunchtime (to 27%), so there is still an opportunity to capitalise on food quality messaging during the busier lunchtime rush.

Dwell and Takings: Time to engage

When digging further into venues most often visited, 6-9 pm is peak times for their favourite places, but nearly half (42%) also go for lunch and afternoons. Once there, we see a 1.5-hour-long stay on average and a mean spend of £15.63 per person.

Analyzing Venue Ratings

Students were invited to evaluate specific facets of their preferred venues. The findings revealed that ’being student friendly’ scored the highest, with convenience, likelihood to recommend, and general ambiance emerging as frontrunners, boasting the most impressive ratings.  

Entertainment, Deals, and Events: Opportunity to grow

Meanwhile, with 19% and 25% of students considering entertainment and events, respectively, a top factor when deciding where to go – though not the top, it’s interesting to note that the range of entertainment, the choice of daily/weekly events and the number of daily/weekly foot and drinks deals – rated at the more popular locations – came out low. Hence, offering a wider range of entertainment, deals, and events could significantly influence venue recommendations and increase the likelihood of attending – presuming the location is right!  

Conclusion: A Clearer Picture

We are committed to using these findings to enrich the student experience and help create a welcoming space that resonates with our diverse and vibrant student group. Thank you for being a part of our journey; please get in touch if you would like to find out more ways to increase footfall, dwell times, and takings using SUBTV.

Understanding the Demographics

This study engaged 539 participants from nineteen UK Universities where SUBTV is hosted – 91% of which fell within the age bracket of 18-24 years, with 37%, 29%, and 21% accounting for first, second, and third year attendees respectively. Participants from The North-West region led with 17%, followed closely by the South-West at 15%, and London at 13% – 11 UK regions were covered in total (ex. Northern Ireland).