NIELSEN CGA: For Millennials, ‘Black Wednesday’ is a Big Night for Beers, Bars & Bonding
1 in 4 Millennials say they will visit the on-premise on Black Wednesday before spending Thanksgiving Day with Family
Source: Nielsen CGA
November 21st
According to the latest Nielsen CGA On Premise Consumer Survey (OPCS), a fifth of the legal drinking age population plans to visit a restaurant, bar or nightclub as part of the Thanksgiving occasion. Millennials are the most likely to go out on Thanksgiving (27%), while only 12% of those over the age of 65 expect to be celebrating out-of-home.
The day before Thanksgiving, often known as ‘Black Wednesday’, is a major event for the on-premise as groups of friends return home from different parts of the country and want to catch up and celebrate. In fact, 1 in 4 (24%) Millennials say they will visit the on-premise on the day before Thanksgiving. What’s more interesting is the type of outlets they plan to visit. 43% of on-premise visits made by Millennials this coming Wednesday will be to a Neighborhood/Local bar…great news for a part of the trade that has been challenged for years, losing traffic to the continued growth in casual dining restaurants.
According to Scott Elliott, SVP of Nielsen CGA, “Fewer than 1 in 4 legal drinking age Americans visit a neighborhood bar on a weekly basis, so Black Wednesday is a big opportunity for a part of the on-premise which has faced challenges and many closures over recent years. In fact, America has lost 1 in 6 Neighborhood bars in the last decade, so making the most of every opportunity is clearly important.”
Whilst not the biggest night for the trade, (New Year’s Eve, Christmas Eve and Halloween all being bigger events) Black Wednesday biases heavily towards Millennials and local bars. In fact, the proportion of visits to local bars (43%) is beaten only by Halloween where 56% of Millennials celebrating in the on-premise say they plan to visit a local bar. New Year’s Eve comes a very close third with 42% of 21-35 year olds planning a trip to a neighborhood bar at some point in the evening.
WHAT WILL THEY BE DRINKING?
So, what are people planning to drink when they go out on Black Wednesday? 43% will be drinking beer, followed by cocktails (33%), table wine (29%) and finally Spirits (14%).
Elliot continued, “with a third of those visiting their local bar this Wednesday drinking Cocktails, there is an opportunity to grow spend with the right serve. We at Nielsen CGA survey 30,000 on-premise visitors a year and we know that cocktail drinkers are willing to spend 11% more on what they perceive to be a premium Cocktail. Add in the fact that consumers typically drink 2.4 cocktails per cocktail-drinking session and it is easy to see the revenue opportunity here for those bars set up to succeed.”
One thing we know for sure is that the modern on-premise visitor drinks multiple categories (4 on average and 5.5 for Millennials) and bars need to be able to help customers navigate their categories of choice throughout the evening if they want to maximise sales. Effective menus, promotions and (crucially) server recommendations are the best ways of doing this.