Wales vs England World Cup match gives pubs and bars 20.5% sales boost

Tuesday’s World Cup fixture between Wales and England saw pubs, bars and nightclubs experience a 20.5% spending lift, according to data from Barclaycard.

Much has been made of the impact that hosting a winter World Cup will have on pubs and bars in the United Kingdom, during what is typically already a busy time for the hospitality industry.

It has been argued that a World Cup held in the summer, as is typically the case, would have provided a much-needed boost to the UK’s beleaguered hospitality sector.

However, the latest data from Barclaycard Payments, which processes nearly £1 in every £3 spent on credit and debit cards in the UK, has shown that pubs, bars and nightclubs enjoyed a 20.5% boost in spending compared with the same date last year.

Restaurants also enjoyed a 13.9% rise in spending, as Brits spent time out and about with their friends and families.

“Tuesday was a bumper day for the hospitality sector as football fans headed to pubs and bars to enjoy the Wales vs England match with friends and family,” said Marc Pettican, Head of Barclaycard Payments.

Despite continued concerns about the rising cost of living, our data shows that trading volumes were up, with the World Cup match also bringing a welcome boost to restaurants too. The uplifts in spending during the last week across Black Friday, Cyber Monday and now the football are hopefully a sign that UK high-streets and online retailers will continue to be busy into December, despite some cut-backs in discretionary spending, as the countdown to Christmas gets underway.”