How to beat the odds in a challenging economy

Costs are up, footfall is fragile, and a clear strategy is what keeps venues open.

The UK's night-time economy has taken a serious hit. Research reported by The Caterer found four hospitality venues closed every day in the final quarter of 2025.

And it is not just nightclubs and bars. Food-led venues have suffered more than wet-led ones, contracting by almost 3% in a year (UKHospitality, 2025). The total number of pubs keeps falling with them.

Why venues keep closing

A combination of factors is at work:

• Rising operational costs and inflation

• Lower disposable income among consumers

• Higher taxes and labour costs

• Changing social habits, with fewer young people going out clubbing and people drinking less

With so many businesses struggling to reach their potential, attention is turning to the steps operators can take to strengthen their business and move towards growth. At Stampede we believe technology-led customer engagement and sharper marketing genuinely help.

Insights from the industry

Patrick Clover, founder of Stampede, puts it plainly:

'Trading without an effective, modern sales and marketing strategy is like sailing a ship without a rudder.'

'If you are going to go through all the hard work of setting up a hospitality business, whether a pub, a restaurant or a hotel, it is worth assessing whether your sales and marketing strategy truly matches the proposition you offer your guests.

'Businesses that prioritise a strong customer acquisition and retention strategy, powered by effective guest engagement technology, consistently achieve greater success and revenue growth. Sadly, there are still a lot of hospitality businesses with little to no modern or digital sales and marketing strategy. These are often the same companies we notice struggling.

'These situations can be turned around. It is possible to re-engineer marketing and sales to take a more strategic approach, and today that includes a modern guest engagement system that unifies customer data into one platform, so you can generate loyal customers, which leads to repeat business and referrals.

'Businesses also need to consider whether their entire customer journey is branded when they communicate. A memorable, branded journey that covers the major digital touchpoints, guest Wi-Fi, social media and targeted email as a minimum, supports growth. It sets businesses up to deliver targeted, personalised marketing, and the results lead directly to more revenue and better reviews online, all made possible by guest data and a strategic approach.'

What the survivors do differently

Hospitality is going through one of its toughest periods, but there is real opportunity in it. The businesses that come through are the ones that embrace guest data, personalised loyalty and marketing built on what those guests actually do. In a market where every customer counts, that is not optional, it is the advantage.

If you run a bar, restaurant, pub or club and footfall is worrying you, now is the time to act. Book a demo to see the platform working, and bring your numbers with you.