Wed 15th Nov 2017 - Deltic boss – young Brits going out and spending more to escape ‘stresses of everyday life’ Deltic boss – young Brits going out and spending more to escape ‘stresses of everyday life’: Deltic Group chief executive Peter Marks has told Propel he believes young Brits are now going out more and increasing their average spend because they are looking to “get away from the stresses of everyday life”. Marks spoke as the fifth Deltic Night Index – and the first to show year-on-year data – was released. The report, which looks at changing consumer behaviours in the UK’s evening and late-night leisure sector, surveyed 2,291 people aged 18 or over with a minimum of 500 18 to 21-year-olds. It showed average spend was up 9.0% to £61.58 on a night out, compared with £53.63 the previous year. Spend has increased on most parts of the late-night leisure spending mix, with an 11.1% increase on spending on drinks in the venue and 11.4% increase on entry fee, as well as a 20.9% increase on pre-drinks. The survey, which covers 1 August to 31 October, showed 60.1% of consumers are going on a night out at least once a week – the highest percentage since the index began. This was an increase from 58.3% the year before and from 43.2% in the previous quarter. This increased to 82.0% for 18 to 21-year-olds – up 10.0% from last year. Almost half (49.5%) of 18 to 25-year-olds spend more money on clubs and bars each month than on other forms of late-night leisure. There has been an 11.1% increase in spending on drinks in the venue to £18.02, compared with £16.22 the year before. Almost half (49.2%) of those aged 26 to 30 stated escaping the stresses of day-to-day life as the top reason to go out. Meanwhile, average spend on Halloween increased by 7.2% on the previous year, from £33 to £35.36. Marks told Propel: “People are looking for a quality, premium experience on a night out and we have to be on that trend. However, the reason for going out has moved away from just catching up with friends to escaping from the pressures of everyday life and having fun and a laugh. The late-night sector is in good health – there have been ups and downs but, contrary to some reports, the past five years have been stable and we’re doing this research to try to show that.”