Christmas: Are you ready?

UK consumers are feeling excited about this year’s festivities, so shout about your offer and make the most of the Christmas opportunity, says Katy Moses, Managing Director, KAM

Katy Moses, KAM

By the end of September this year, a whopping 3.3 million Brits had already made their Christmas reservations. As last Christmas was such a wash-out, it’s no surprise that recent research from KAM found that consumers are keen to make this year a bigger celebration than ever.

With one in three intending to put more effort into celebrating Christmas this year compared to pre-Covid, we predict that people will be spending more and planning earlier. One in four of those who celebrate Christmas had already started planning for it in September, so if you haven’t already got your Christmas offer sorted with bookings well and truly open, then you’d better get on it because you’re already missing out.

The research found that hospitality footfall on Christmas Day itself looks set to return to pre-Covid levels this year, with 1 in 10 intending to visit a pub or restaurant. The same can be said of New Year’s Eve, with a very similar proportion of consumers saying they intend to visit a pub or restaurant.

With demand so high, now’s the time to bolster your marketing and make sure potential customers can easily find you. When people are looking for a new or different venue, their decision is increasingly digitally driven. After asking friends and family for recommendations, the next place most people turn to is a general internet search (38%), followed by a Google ‘near me’ search (25%) and then a hospitality review website/app such as Tripadvisor (22%.) This represents a huge opportunity for operators to either influence potential customers or lose them. If you don’t show up on a Google ‘near me’ search, then add it to your to-do list and mark it as ‘urgent’.

Did you know?

AFTER ASKING FRIENDS AND FAMILY, 38% OF BRITS DO A GENERAL INTERNET SEARCH

25% SEARCH GOOGLE ‘NEAR ME’

22% USE HOSPITALITY REVIEW WEBSITES OR APPS

DOWNLOAD THE FULL RESEARCH HERE:

dropbox.com/s/0kh9fsxis2ykdts/KAM%20-%20Christmas%202021%20Infographic.pdf?dl=0