February 18, 2022 was a blue riband day in Australia, as the nation reopened its nightclubs after two difficult and frightening years. People were eager enough to go out and celebrate, but 18 months on, it feels as if the message has not quite got out there.
Australia has been generally praised for how it handled the crisis and has been held up as a benchmark. While other western nations have struggled with a lethargic economy and crippling inflation, Australia’s “return to normal” has smoothly rolled out in an atmosphere of prosperity and stability. For example, there are just under 400,000 more people in work now than there were in 2019. Unemployment is the lowest it has been since the mid 1970s. The latest budget delivered a bigger boost to the bottom line than any budget since the early 1950s.
Australians have more reason to go out and party the night away than any other nation according to the data. Yet they are not doing so. Australia’s famous nightclub scene in cities like Sydney, Gold Coast and Melbourne are seeing doors close at a rapid rate. Market research from IBISWorld shows the number of Australian nightclubs has reduced from 482 to 355 over the past few years. Profit margins are declining at a similar rate.
If anything, the picture is even worse in smaller communities. The Western Australia port city of Geraldton is thriving economically. Four years ago, it had three nightclubs and they would all have lines of people waiting to get in on a Saturday night. Today, they are all permanently closed. The nearest city with nightclubs is Perth, 400 miles away.
Nightclubbing is in decline “for one reason”
Earlier this year, the Australian government carried out a study in Sydney, the nation’s party and nightlife capital, to explore the reasons. From what it heard on the street, it can be summed up in one word: Cost.
Fifty percent of the 1000 respondents interviewed said Sydney’s nightlife was unaffordable, compared with 42 percent last year. 22 percent said it is affordable, compared with 31 percent last year.
The Australian government is rushing through measures that should reduce costs for Australian nightclubs and bars, savings they can share with customers. Nobody will argue with that, and it should affect those opinions a little. But are the researchers missing the point?
The influence of online casinos and other digital experiences
Chatting to clubbers around The Rocks in Sydney’s nightclub district is one thing. But maybe it would be better to speak to those who are sitting at home, most likely buried in a smartphone and sipping an iced tea. The point is, many who have been around the industry a long time have noticed that Gen-Z Australians, the 20-somethings who should be the new generation of clubbers, would simply rather do other things.
They don’t go to clubs in search of Mr or Miss Right, they go to a dating app. And if they want to play the pokies, they look up the best casinos online for Australian players. Sydney’s casinos are still legendary, but attract more special one-off visitors to play the classic casino table games. For a spin on the pokies, the mobile is the place to be.
Australia is not alone this time
Everyone had their own rules and mostly stuck by them in 2020 and 21. The current dip in visitors to nightclubs is being noticed across the globe, and sometimes all we can do is watch to see what happens next.
For example, there are fewer than half the nightclubs in the UK that there were in 2005. Yes, this led to the inevitable media frenzy bemoaning the loss of cultural identity, but in truth, none of them existed more than a generation ago. In the same publications, you see similar articles about village pubs struggling to survive and city center restaurants going under. It is something that is seen time and time again.
People change and so do their habits
People’s habits are changing. A cross section of young Gen X-ers interviewed by ABC revealed people who prefer a quiet drink in a garden where they can chat with friends over shouting to be heard in a sweaty nightclub. It’s hard to argue with that sort of logic. These findings from ABC are even more interesting when examined alongside the government survey in Sydney. In the latter, respondents were asked what was lacking in Sydney’s nightlife. Those aged 25 and over mostly made reference to pubs, esport venues and bars where visitors could listen to live bands.
Only some of the younger respondents in their early 20s said they wanted more night clubs. And from the information gathered by ABC, it seems that even in this age group, there are as many who prefer a chilled night out relaxing instead of showing their moves on the dance floor.
The reasons for these changes, and for many Gen-Z-ers to sound like baby boomers with their penchant for quiet pub gardens, is worth taking a look at, but that is a study for another day. Right now, the point is that changes do happen. We’ve seen the parallel with the UK and we could easily find others. For example, nobody asks where all those wine bars went, the ones that were so popular in the late 1980s.
There will always be a place for nightclubs, just as there will always be a place for casinos and even wine bars, within reason. It is just the mix that will inevitably change over time. Who knows, Gen Z bemoaning a lack of beer gardens could see a revival for the good old fashioned English-style pub. Or maybe it will inspire Australia’s publicans to try out something completely new.
It behoves licensees, to stay up to date with shifts in public preferences and the latest trends so that people of whatever generation can spend their leisure time in the surroundings and atmosphere they prefer.