Britain’s chicken shops are emerging as an unlikely winner from the consumer spending squeeze, with visits to fast-food outlets rising in June even as pubs continued to lose customers despite a boost from the World Cup.
Footfall at fast-food venues increased 0.3 per cent year on year in June, according to data from Meaningful Vision, marking the first monthly increase for the sector in 2026. The broader picture remains weaker, however, with visits during the first half of the year down 0.9 per cent from the same period in 2025.
Chicken shops have been the standout performer. Customer visits increased 10.5 per cent during the first six months of the year, contrasting sharply with continued declines at burger restaurants.
The divergence points to a broader shift in household spending as consumers become more selective about eating out. Lower-cost food options are proving more resilient as higher household expenses and weak confidence constrain discretionary spending.
Pubs have faced a more pronounced squeeze. Footfall fell 4.8 per cent in June compared with a year earlier, while visits declined 7 per cent over the second quarter.
The World Cup provided a temporary lift as customers headed to pubs for live screenings, but the increase was insufficient to reverse the sector’s underlying decline.
Maria Vanifatova, chief executive of Meaningful Vision, said the tournament had provided a “sentiment boost” but had failed to offset broader weakness across hospitality.
The data, which tracks customer visits, prices, promotions and openings across 60,000 outlets, points to an industry facing a difficult combination of falling demand and rising costs.
Food and labour expenses continue to squeeze margins, while consumers are eating and drinking out less frequently.
June nevertheless offered some evidence that the downturn may be losing momentum. Footfall improved across all major food-service subsectors during the month, pushing fast food into positive annual growth.
The challenge for operators is whether that improvement represents the beginning of a stabilisation or simply a brief pause in a consumer spending slowdown.
For pubs, the World Cup’s limited impact offers a warning: even a major sporting event is struggling to persuade consumers to spend more on a night out.
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