Bars revenues in NSW have more than halved since lockdown restrictions began, according to new data collected from over 10,000 hospitality businesses. The insights, collected by leading point-of-sale and e-commerce software provider Lightspeed, show that bar income has dropped by 52.9 per cent since last August, despite the bar and nightlife sector displaying encouraging signs of recovery between February and May of 2021. During that four-month period, bars enjoyed consecutive month-to-month increases in revenue of more than 18 per cent, before the gradual introduction of lockdown measures, beginning in June, pushed bars out of the black and back into the red.
Restaurants have also experienced a steep downturn in revenue, by more than 40 per cent year-on-year, despite also recording three consecutive months of fiscal growth between March and May this year. Cafés have also experienced a reduction of income by 28.3 per cent year-on-year, but have generally performed better than other hospitality businesses under lockdown.
The hospitality sector has been one of the most nimble industries when it comes to pivoting to takeaway and delivery options. Many top cocktail bars across Sydney have launched bottled cocktail ranges or have offered bottle shop and takeaway services, while restaurants that have not traditionally offered takeaway, particularly in the fine-dining space, have partnered with courier services like Providoor to reach their customers at home. However, these new revenue streams have been unable to meet the shortfall caused by the loss of in-person service.
Data collated by the Australian Bureau of Statistics has revealed that as many as 50,000 hospitality workers across the state have lost their jobs since May. Employers are now eyeing the crucial vaccine threshold of 70 per cent of adults double jabbed, with the state government pledging to allow hospitality and retail to reopen for fully vaccinated patrons once this target is reached. By September 2, more than 70 per cent of eligible adults over the age of 16 in NSW had received at least one dose of a vaccine, with the double dose target expected to be reached by mid-October, possibly by the 18th of the month.