As partygoers gear up for the festive season, a new study of bar behaviour has revealed that there may be more than meets the eye to a few drinks at the local pub. According to the research by Abbey Banking, buying a round of drinks can turn into a complex test of mathematic ability for the two thirds of Brits who plan, plot and calculate their way through a night out with friends.
Almost a quarter (24 %) of boozing Brits confess to playing the ?buy early? move, in order to maximise returns from their mates. This tactic is more popular with men than women (30 % vs. 18 %) and involves buying the first round, in the hope of dining out on this show of generosity for the remainder of the night.?
A sneaky one-in-ten (10 %) of Brits prefer to wait until mid-way through the evening in order to capitalise on early leavers and others who have not kept pace. While one-in-20 people (5 %) aim to avoid buying drinks all night, only pulling out their wallets at the end of the evening if absolutely necessary.
The research also found that one-in-five people (20 %), equivalent to around 7.4 million Brits are ?lone drinkers?, preferring to buy drinks only for themselves to avoid confusion and arguments, a problem that as many as one-in-ten people have faced in the past.
According to the study, there are four types of drinkers:
- The early mover ? Makes an early beeline for the bar, buying drinks for everyone within ?shouting? distance.? Rarely makes a repeat visit. (24 %).? Men are more likely than women to employ this tactic (30 % vs. 18 %).
- The mid-evening mover ? Seizes the opportunity to get a shout in when many fellow drinkers have either gone home or fallen out of sync with the shout (10 %). This move was equally popular with men and women (11 % and 10 % respectively).
- The lone drinker ? Carrying the scar tissue of previous fall-outs, this drinker looks after number one only.? (20 %). There was little gender difference (19 % of men versus 21 % of women).
- The bar bill evaders ? Elusive and hard to pin down, this drinker only reaches into their pocket at the end of the evening if absolutely necessary (5 %).? Men were more than twice as likely as women to evade the bill (7 % versus 3 %).
