Bristol city centre ‘heading in right direction’ after report reveals surge in spending this year

Bristol’s city centre is showing ‘strong signs’ of recovery following the pandemic, with millions spent on Visa cards across businesses in the area during the first half of 2022.

New research commissioned by the Bristol City Centre, Redcliffe & Temple and Broadmead BIDs shows that firms in BS1, BS2 and BS8 raked in a Visa spend of £274m from January 1 to June 30.

Across the two quarters, the total in premises Visa spend is £131.1m in Q1 and £142.7m in Q2, representing a 9% rise from one quarter to the next and an increase of 16% when comparing it to the same trading period in 2021.

The most significant increases were experienced by hotels, clothing and shoes shops, and general retail and high street.

Q1 vs Q2

Restaurants, pubs and clubs: £37million - £39million = 7% increase

Clothing: £20million - £26million = 33% increase

Supermarkets: £23million - £17million = 26% decrease

General retail & high street: £11million - £14million = 30% increase

Hotels & accommodation: £6million - £9million: 43% increase

The night-time economy sector, or businesses operating between 6pm and 6am, has also seen a significant boost across the first half of 2022 with a total spend of £39.5million across the six months.

The night-time economy experienced a ‘very positive’ start to the year with £19million spend in Q1.

A key driver for this increase was the return of Bristol Light Festival, which brought an additional £3.4m revenue to city centre businesses and 170,000 visitors to the event across its duration.

In Q2, restaurants, bars and clubs experienced an 8% increase in spend as a whole, with £20.5million spend reported specifically in the city centre between 6pm and 6am.

The research shows that online Visa spend in businesses across BS1, BS2 and BS8 went on to benefit from online sales of £161million in Q1 of this year, and a further £146million in Q2, a total of £307million for the first half of the year.

There was a decrease of 10% between the two quarters, however in correlation with the increase of in premises spend, this shows the movement of consumers choosing to shop in store rather than online.

International spend is also having a huge impact on Bristol’s city centre economy and recovery, a total of £53.4million across the first six months of the year, with visitors from USA accounting for the highest international spend in the city.

‘Still more work to be done’ following £50m shortfall

Steve Bluff, head of Redcliffe & Temple BID, said: “In Q1, the city centre economy started to show signs of recovery, with more people wanting to visit and spend leisure time in the city, we started on a post-pandemic upward trajectory.

“While we are seeing reassuring signs of recovery and quarterly increased spend in the city, these is still more work to be done.

“We know that when comparing Q2 of this year to Q2 2019, there is a difference and shortfall of over £50million in spend, if the city is to fully rebound and return to the levels seen before the pandemic then businesses need continued support through local, international, and online spend.”

Initiatives from the BIDs, including the recent introduction of the Love Bristol Gift Card scheme supports and boosts the city centre economy by encouraging local spend.

Free to attend events and activities are also proving to be significantly important in terms of high street recovery as they drive footfall and spend into city centre businesses supporting economic growth.

‘We need to ensure both day and night-time economies are supported’

Vicky Lee, Head of Bristol City Centre BID said: “This data shows that in Q1, we were heading in the right direction for a more prosperous year for our city’s businesses, particularly retail and hospitality that were hit hard by the pandemic.

“As we headed into Q2, the cost of living and inflation has had an impact on businesses and how they operate, but thankfully the data so far shows that these concerns have not affected consumer spend in the city centre.”

Ms Lee said that while it is likely consumers’ disposable income may have reduced, the importance of smaller ‘pick me up’ purchases and experiences such as shopping, meals out or a night out in the city still seem high on the agenda.

“We will be using this data to understand and monitor the spend trends in the city centre, to ensure we can continue to support businesses in the second half of the year,” she added.

“We need to ensure both day and night-time economies are supported, encouraging workers back to their offices will be a key driver for increased midweek, daytime spend, along with autumn and winter events to attract visitors into the city.”