Those are among the takeaways from the Christmas Report 2025 from NIQ, powered by CGA intelligence. The exclusive research is packed with insights that help suppliers and operators understand the big trends of last Christmas and start planning for success later this year.
The report reveals that nearly four fifths (78%) of Britain’s consumers visited a licensed premise at some point over Christmas—a welcome increase of 3 percentage points from 2024. However, while more consumers went out, they were doing so less frequently. Only a quarter (24%) said they visited at least weekly, which is down by 4 percentage points year-on-year.
Christmas spend under pressure
Reduced frequency reflects the financial pressures on consumers throughout 2025. Of those who made fewer Christmas visits than they did in 2024, two in five (41%) cited cost of living issues as the reason, while 28% said they had less disposable income than previously.
These concerns led some consumers to celebrate festive occasions from the comfort of their own home instead of in pubs, bars and restaurants. One in ten (10%) of those who didn’t go out over Christmas said it was because they were able to recreate hospitality experiences like festive meals and cocktails at home—up sharply from the figure of 4% in 2024. Asked what they did with the money they saved on going out, the number one response was to cook more at home.
Frequency falls for restaurants, parties and markets
Consumers scaled back their visits across most hospitality channels over Christmas, with restaurants facing a particularly tough battle to sustain footfall. Only 38% of those who visited restaurants over the festive period said they visited at least weekly—down from 43% in 2024. This trend matches data from the NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker, which shows managed pub groups achieved much stronger sales growth than restaurants in December.
Other key festive occasions were affected too, including parties and visits to Christmas markets. The number of consumers attending a Christmas work party fell from 24% in 2024 to 21% in 2025. Meanwhile only 28% went to a festive market, with some previous visitors noting that their novelty had worn off. These occasions may have been replaced by at-home celebrations, where people can better cater to their needs and save money.
The trend of trading the barstool for the sofa wasn’t limited to Christmas. NIQ’s latest High Tempo Report shows nearly three in five consumers now pre-drink before any high tempo occasion while 37% have after-drinks, putting a squeeze on visits to pubs, bars and clubs.
Tempting people out
Attracting people out of their homes and into the On Premise will be a top priority for all operators and suppliers in 2026, and NIQ’s research flags ways to do so. They include Christmas-themed cocktails that can’t be replicated at home, like examples from 2025 including the Snow-Globe and Not Terry’s Chocolate Oyster from The Alchemist and the Winter Warmer from Albert’s Schloss. Food menus were adapted too, with festive ingredients like a southern fried turkey burger at Hickory’s Smokehouse.
NIQ’s Christmas Report 2025 combines a survey of 2,000 nationally representative consumers with volumetric sales figures and other proprietary data to provide best-in-class insights into festive behaviours and trading trends. It includes extensive breakdowns by demographic, category, channel, occasion, daypart, location and more, helping operators and suppliers understand Christmas 2025 and find ways to generate footfall and influence decision-making over Christmas 2026.
To learn more about NIQ’s Christmas Report 2025 services in this space, get in touch
