F&B sales see growth in only half of British cities

Out-of-home food and beverage (F&B) sales are in growth in only half of British city centres, according to the latest Top Cities report from CGA and Wireless Social. 

The joint report combines CGA's sales data with device log-in data from Wireless Social to provide a vibrancy ranking of Britain's 10 most populous cities over the four weeks to 30 July 2022. 

While sales are flat in the latest measurement period, rising inflation means they are dropping in real terms as the hospitality sector builds back whilst facing new challenges. Sales across the top five cities in the vibrancy rankings for July were between 0.2% and 6.2% higher than in the corresponding four-week period in 2019. However, for the first time since the first Top Cities Vibrancy report in January, the data shows five cities in total experiencing negative sales versus the same time period in 2019. 

Glasgow once again takes the number one spot on the list of most vibrant cities, primarily driven by sales performance. However, with inflation at nearly 11%, it will be difficult for this to constitute growth in real terms, which is the case for each city in the Top Cities Vibrancy report. 

The update also sees last month's top city Leicester drop to fifth place, with Birmingham demonstrating a performance closer to its higher rankings seen in February and April as it climbed from fifth place to second place in the latest period. Meanwhile, Bristol continues to rank highly, driven by increased logins in the latest four weeks which has contributed to its overall vibrancy ranking position of third. 

London's performance was once again towards the bottom of the list. During this period, however, this was mainly driven by negative sales performance (-7% versus 2019), rather than guest logins. With the capital seeing an influx of tourists over its peak period, this is likely why London has seen a spike in logins.

CGA client director Chris Jeffrey comments: "Following its performance in the first half of the year, it's no surprise to see Glasgow back on top and it's promising to see Birmingham climb back into second position. However, it's clear that despite the sales growth seen across some cities, the sector is still facing substantial challenges in the form of inflation, rising costs, staffing shortages and supply chain issues. With half of the cities on the vibrancy ranking report seeing negative sales versus 2019 for the first time since January and cost of living concerns beginning to impact consumer spending, it looks likely that challenging trading  conditions will continue to affect the sector."

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