New data from Fonto shows there has been a reduction of 7% in Sydney on-premise activity in the third week following lockdown ending in NSW.

While the number of consumers spending in the on-premise has remained level with week two, the reported spend has decreased, which is the cause of the reduction. By contrast, off-premise has increased by 12%. This is the result of more people buying off-prem…and they have spent more per transaction.

However, Jon O’Loughlin, Head of Client Development at consumer data business Fonto said it’s not a cause for concern.

“It is worth noting that these sorts of variations in both on-premise and off-premise numbers are not unexpected and not something that would typically ring any alarm bells – we see similar variations in the trend pre-lockdown,” he said. “In addition, although on-premise capacity constraints are still in place, the gradual easing of restrictions this week and next week will hopefully see on-premise increase slightly.

“As restrictions end, we are keen to share how things pan-out, so will extend this analysis for an extra week.”

Fonto has been offering free access to its weekly transactional data, covering both on-premise and off-premise categories to help the drinks industry get immediate insights around on- and off-premise activity during the NSW reopening.

“We know people will have lots of questions about on-premise activity – who is venturing out, where are they spending, how much are they spending etc – and whether it will have an impact on off-premise purchasing,” O’Loughlin said.

For more information, contact O’Loughlin at jon.oloughlin@fonto.com.au

NSW on-premise sales return to pre-lockdown levels