Coronation weekend boosts spending for Scottish businesses

Bank of Scotland data from customer spending habits in the food and drink sector during the week of the King’s Coronation 2^nd – 8^th May shows: 

·         A 10% increase in spending in Scottish firms including pubs, bars, cafés and restaurants compared with the previous week 

·         The Coronation generated bigger consumer spending levels in Scotland than the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 (10% vs 3% respectively) despite the Coronation only being a three-day compared to the four-day Jubilee  

·         Across the UK biggest increase in business activity was seen by restaurants (12% increase) followed by supermarkets and grocery retailers (nine percent increase)  

The Coronation Bank Holiday weekend led to a flurry of consumer spending in Scotland, helping to boost business activity.  

Consumers in Scotland increased their spending more than any other UK nation or region as business reported a 10% rise in trading activity over the bank holiday compared to the previous week. 

Data scientists at Bank of Scotland found the additional Bank Holiday for the King’s Coronation increased Scottish spending by a greater amount than the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee four-day-weekend last year which drove a 3% increase in purchases across firms.  

Restaurants in the UK received the biggest boost in business activity, with customers spending 12% more than in previous weeks, followed by supermarkets and grocery retailers who saw a nine per cent increase. 

Day by day analysis of the UK shows that the biggest increase in spending was restaurants on Sunday and Monday by 37% and 51% percent respectively.  

Chris Lawrie, area director for Scotland at Bank of Scotland Commercial Banking: “It’s fantastic to see the boost the extra day’s bank holiday has given to businesses, many of which will be hoping for a similar surge in demand for the next bank holiday and into the summer.  

“Managing cash flow and juggling busy periods can be challenging for firms, and for larger businesses leveraging tools such as invoice or asset-based lending can be useful to unlock capital when needed, enabling them to seize the opportunities that come their way.

“As well as wisely investing their hard-earned additional revenue into training and overall efficiency gains which will benefit the business in the long term.”