Robinsons Brewery’s legal wi-fi scheme, in partnership with EvolveODM, AB InBev and Diageo, has received more than 850,000 connections within the first 12 months.
The wi-fi, which is offered to all pubs within Robinsons’ estate, has so far been taken up by 82 pubs with the vision to roll out to every site without secure, legally-compliant wi-fi within the brewery’s 300-strong estate.
David Bremner, director of marketing for Robinsons Brewery, said: “Whilst there are several other legal wi-fi solutions out there, what is fantastic about Evolve is that we get to customise every step of the user experience, from log-in pages to advertising a promotion or event specific to the pub. Our pubs also get the details of our customers — including gender, age and time spent at the pub — to further improve their offers.”
With over 65,000 unique Robinsons Wi-Fi users clocking more than 2,030,777 hours online — equivalent to 231 years’ worth of browsing — having internet connectivity is no longer viewed as a luxury but a need for most pub customers.
Recent research show that 61% of people search for a wi-fi hotspot when out eating and drinking, while 27% say they would visit a venue more often if they could connect to a hotspot.
David added: “We are safeguarding our pubs for the future and ensuring that the next generation of drinkers, who see internet connectivity as a ‘make or break’ facility, have no excuse but to choose our pubs.”
The breakdown of users also show that it’s not just ‘Generation Y’ that are the taking advantage of the access to the internet. In fact, the most popular users are in the 46- to 60 -year-old demographic, with 18 to 35s only slightly behind.
The wi-fi scheme is also helping drive beer sales with pubs selling, on average, an additional two barrels of beer each when compared to pubs that do not offer free wi-fi to their customers, leading to an additional 41,600 pints of beer being quaffed across the 80 sites per year.
With an average of 2.42 hours spent online with each connection, customers are staying in the pub longer and are ordering more at the bar.
David said: “It’s an interesting trend, but one that shows the changing need of customers in the digital age. No longer do we tell our friends through word of mouth about our pub experiences, instead, we document them online through our social channels. The reach of social media cannot be understated — our customer’s voices are reaching a larger audience which in turn is helping to drive beer sales at our pubs.”
Sunny Bhurji, trade marketing director for AB InBev, said: “With customers increasingly looking for outlets that supply free wi-fi, it’s been great to support Robinsons Brewery with this implementation, and it’s exciting to see the direct effect it is having on customer footfall and beer sales.”
