INSIGHT
BIG NIGHT IN BLAKE GLADMAN, STRATEGY & INSIGHT DIRECTOR, KAM MEDIA
THE ‘BIG NIGHT IN’... REIMAGINED CORONAVIRUS MAY HAVE KEPT CONSUMERS APART, BUT IT ALSO BROUGHT THEM CLOSER TOGETHER
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IN OTHER WAYS. ONE OF THE RESULTS HAS BEEN A REINVIGORATION OF THE ‘BIG NIGHT IN’, BRINGING PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR RETAILERS, ARGUES KAM MEDIA’S BLAKE GLADMAN.
he lockdown may have been designed to keep us apart but in many respects, it has brought people closer together. Nights out down the pub were replaced with nights in, in front of a screen. Catch-ups, quizzes, birthday parties, dates and even weddings have all been taking place online as Britain discovered the world of Zoom. The initial spike in demand for online communication platforms, from Zoom to Houseparty may have slowed and the reopening of hospitality will also play a significant role, but we predict that this doesn’t spell the end for the ‘Big Night In’, just simply a second phase. Recent research by KAM Media in the few days after pubs and restaurants re-opened their doors in England showed that 55% of consumers are still not planning on visiting a pub or restaurant and won’t be doing so for some time. This suggests there is still going to be a high demand for online socialising and making the most of nights indoors.
“Over half of consumers are still not planning on visiting a pub or restaurant and won’t be doing so for some time.”
18 I SLRMAG.CO.UK / ISSUE 14 / WEDNESDAY 22ND JULY 2020
The ‘Big Night In’, of course, is not a new phenomenon in the world of local retail. It’s a marketing dynamic which has played a role in promoting BWS and snacking opportunities for many years. However, the key difference here is that this new trend is now consumer-led, and not driven by suppliers or retailers. Before, we were trying to create occasions from which we wanted shoppers to buy into. Now, consumers have created their own occasions and we now need to fit our products to meet their new needs. The key here, then, is to understand these consumers and these occasions first, to truly offer a solution which delivers. Alcohol remains a key category within the ‘Big Night In’ occasion and there are two specific macro-trends which have been slowly filtering into consumer behaviour for some time now which have been accelerated by lockdown. The first is the significant rise in alcohol-free consumption and the other is an increase in demand for ‘premium’. The ease in which people can connect online, or access films and boxsets means that the ‘Big Night In’ can be every night of the week. So we are seeing consumers changing their alcohol consumption behaviours to fit in with this increased frequency of drinking occasions. One in six consumers in a recent KAM Media study into the ‘low & no alcohol’ category said that they use low & no to regulate their total alcohol consumption. In other words, still having the same enjoyment and experience but with a slightly clearer head and less of a hangover in the morning. This trend is more prevalent with the younger generation, with as many as one in four doing so.
