Deals drive demand as 48% of consumers favour discounted visits

However, eating out leads consumer spending cuts despite the discount appeal.

Nearly half of consumers (48%) say they would be more likely to visit a hospitality venue if discounts or multi-buy deals were available, according to RSM UK’s Consumer Outlook.

That rises to 58% amongst Generation X, suggesting older working-age consumers are especially responsive to price-led incentives.

When choosing where to eat or drink out, respondents rank value for money as the main factor (22%), followed closely by food and drink quality (20%) and price (19%).

Despite those priorities, cost pressures are expected to reduce spending in the near term. Over the next three months, 35% of consumers say they plan to cut back on both eating out and ordering takeaways.

RSM UK’s leisure and hospitality head, Saxon Moseley, said discounts can bring in customers during slow trading periods but are not a sustainable long-term strategy, especially where offers like buy-one-get-one-free effectively remove revenue from one sale and squeeze margins.

He also noted that eating and drinking out is often one of the first expenses cut during tougher economic conditions, though demand remains for social and leisure experiences, meaning venues will need to keep adapting to stay competitive.