Blog and Updates

July's Pinch Punch

June's Pinch Punch

May's Pinch Punch

A look back at our #ComeBackStrong campaign

Today marks an entire year of binge-watching, binge-eating, binge-nothing, doom scrolling, zoom calling, panic buying, doorstep clapping, 5k running, home working (or at least trying to), in the United Kingdom. 

Almost 1-in-5 consumers would like the option to 'opt-out' of Mother's Day communications from hospitality operators and brands, according to a new consumer poll.

Ever wandered into a bar and panic ordered a diet coke out of lack of choice or inspiration? More and more, we are hearing consumers commenting on the lack of alcohol-free alternatives available in pubs which leave them feeling uninspired and excluded from social occasions.

Hospitality operators were feeling the love on Valentine’s Day with cook-at-home meal kits selling out weeks in advance. For the hard-hit industry, Mother’s Day is the next big opportunity to generate additional sales, with consumers looking to spend more and treat their mums for the second Mothers Day in lockdown. Stuck for inspiration for what your venue might be able to do? Team Toggle has put together some ideas that we’d love to treat our mums to for the special day.

With every hospitality sector news update there is further proof that while clearly, we are still underwater, and will be for some time to come, there is also a growing number of start-up vehicles building teams and war chests to capitalise on the inevitable fallout.

We all might have hoped that 2021 was going to start a little differently. The news pre-Christmas of vaccines was quickly overtaken by the new variant and lockdowns. Any optimism for launching into a New Year with renewed vigour has quickly been forgotten. We must now, with the vaccinations underway (and seemingly going well), look toward Spring/Summer and prepare to maximise the forthcoming opportunities.

A gift card is always perfect as a last-minute present or if you’re stuck for what to get someone for Christmas - you can’t ever really go wrong. But with many people unable to see their loved ones face-to-face this year, gift cards have also proved to be an easy way to show someone that you’re thinking of them during the locked-down festivities. We’ve delved into the data to highlight some notable December trends.

1-in-5 consumers intend to make a bigger effort than normal this Valentine’s Day, especially Generation Z and younger Millennials, according to a new consumer poll from Toggle and KAM Media.

Whilst Black Friday has become a mainstay event in the UK’s trading calendar, it has only been adopted by hospitality relatively recently. The industry is in a torrid state with the pandemic restrictions biting and revenue streams severely hampered. Pre-sold revenue through gift cards sales and at-home experiences are amongst the few ways operators have been able to generate much-needed cash whilst doors have been closed - alongside pivoting to takeaways and selling retail products directly to customers.

Want to sleigh your gifting strategy for Christmas and boost your sales during the golden quarter of the year?

Ole & Steen, Duck and Rice, Tonkotsu, Sourced Market, JW Lees and Revolution Bars are amongst a host of food and beverage businesses to have launched online stores with Toggle in recent weeks – selling at-home experiences, gift cards and retail products to boost pre-Christmas sales during lockdown.