How Consumers Are Reframing the Big Night Out

Consumer Behavior

The locations and timings of high tempo occasions in Britain’s On–Premise are shifting at pace, NIQ’s 2026 High Tempo Report reveals.

Lifestyle changes, rising costs, moderation, new venue types and many more factors have dramatically reshaped out-of-home habits. But with the number of consumers who typically enjoy high tempo occasions rising by 2 percentage points year-on-year, these visits are still vital contributors to trading for pubs, bars, nightclubs and suppliers. Understanding where and when people are going for these occasions is the first step to capturing their attention, and the High Tempo Report is packed with insights for securing a competitive advantage.

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The return of the club?

Those insights include expert analysis of people’s venue selections. Nightclubs, for many years a core part of the high tempo occasion, have struggled for footfall in recent years, and NIQ’s Hospitality Market Monitor shows their numbers have halved since the end of 2019. But could they be coming back into favour? More than a third (37%) of consumers say they use clubs for high tempo occasions now, which is 8 percentage points more than a year ago. Meanwhile, numbers visiting bars or late-night bars for these occasions have risen by 4 percentage points to 37%.

However, while clubs and bars are attracting more consumers, some of those visitors are spending less time there. Only 30% say they are visiting nightclubs for high tempo occasions more often than they were a year ago, but venues including sports and social clubs and student bars have seen their frequency rise—perhaps because prices tend to be lower here.

Changing dayparts

Quieter venues are particularly popular because of a steady shift towards earlier high tempo occasions. Nearly a third (32%) of consumers are going out earlier for big nights out than they were a year ago—double the number (15%) who are going out later. The differential between the two (17 percentage points) is also high for visits like competitive socialising (18), pub or bar crawls (16) and events like quizzes or karaoke (12).

This has had a major impact on trading patterns in the On-Premise. The share of sales earned by the early evening slot of 5pm to 7pm has increased by 0.8 percentage points to 25.1% in the last two years, which means it has overtaken the late evening period of 7pm to 10pm (down by 1.3 percentage points to 24.3%) as the most valuable part of the day.

How to meet the new needs

Operators and suppliers need to adapt to these and other rapid changes in high tempo occasions to stay relevant. The High Tempo Report shows one of the top priorities is atmosphere, as a quarter (25%) of consumers say they would go out earlier and stay out longer if this was improved. Promotions and discounts can help as well, by attracting people for whom cost is an issue.

Other likely incentives include a greater variety of activities or entertainment, which can boost footfall in quieter midweek periods in particular. Venues also need to make it easy for guests to reserve tables and order drinks in advance, as a third (33%) say they typically pre-book before a high tempo occasion. Positive social media content is another factor, and it’s slightly more important than it was a year ago.

Ready to win the high-tempo occasions?

NIQ’s 2026 High Tempo Report delivers much more analysis of key consumer behaviours on high tempo occasions, breaking down visits by type, channel, category consumption and much more, with expert takeaways for influencing venue choices and purchases.

The report offers a clear, detailed roadmap for On-Premise businesses seeking to win in an increasingly complex high tempo landscape.