The UK leisure industry has continued to grow in current price terms during the past five years, despite a difficult trading environment which saw nearly five years of declining living standards before they started to grow again at the end of 2014. The industry is expected to be worth just over £80 billion in 2015, some 15% higher than the 2010 total.

Potentially one of the biggest challenges to the industry in the next few years is the introduction of the National Living Wage in 2016, which promises to increase living standards for low-paid workers but in the process seems certain to push up leisure operators’ wage costs, since they largely rely on unskilled workers.

Despite a lot of focus on the part of leisure operators on developing apps to be used on smartphones and tablets, consumer preferences for communicating with operators and for receiving details of deals and offers remain centred around the more traditional digital channels of websites and email.

However, more than two in five leisure consumers are open to receiving offers and deals through a leisure operator’s app when near or in their venue, so it appears that there is potential for apps to deliver useful and relevant content to customers, which could see increased app adoption rates in the future.

This report covers the leisure industry, which Mintel defines as including the cinema, gambling, live sports, visitor attractions, music concerts/festivals, nightclubs, private health and fitness clubs, public leisure centres and swimming pools, pubs/bars, restaurants/takeaways, tenpin bowling and theatre sectors.