Nightlife venues embrace 'experience economy' as alcohol consumption falls

On a muggy weeknight in central Queensland, a sea of young people dressed in bright active wear pack out a pub.

But they're not here for the booze.

The group is refuelling after taking part in a weekly run club, where runners can cash in on a meal discount at a rotating list of venues.

Tucking into a steak and salad, 26-year-old Harrison Boag says his alcohol consumption is close to zero drinks a week.

"I just enjoy being healthy and drinking wasn't helping with that, so I realised at a certain point it doesn't fit into my life," he says. 

Mr Boag is not alone. 

A Flinders University study found generation Z are 20 times less likely than baby boomers to choose to drink alcohol. 

It's one of many challenges facing the nightlife industry, according to Queensland's first night-life economy commissioner, John "JC" Collins.  

"Young people have been healthy, which is great, but … they're not spending as much over the bar," he says. 

The Powderfinger bassist says the cost of doing business has "gone through the roof", with rising insurance, supply prices and wages.

Pub owner Stephen Roberts hosts the run club group at his venue monthly and says nightlife culture has shifted away from just serving alcohol. 

"We're sort of reaching out to a crowd that maybe we wouldn't have reached out to before [because] we're quite an old-school country-style pub," he says.  

"It's less about drinking now and more about socialising."

Experience economy

Coined in a 1998 Harvard Business Review article, the "experience economy" is a concept that businesses can create more value by offering memorable experiences rather than simply selling products or services. 

Associate Professor Felix Septianto, from the University of Queensland, specialises in consumer behaviour.

He says nightlife patrons remember an event or experience over the beverage they ordered.

"We can buy a beer or a glass of wine almost anywhere … what makes people choose to go to a venue?" he says.

Dr Septianto says selling memorable experiences could help regional businesses perform well in a market with a smaller population base. 

"When in the regional areas … we cannot always rely on getting new people," he says.

"Offering different activities and experiences would give our customers reasons to keep coming back."

Post-COVID nightlife

The night-life economy commissioner's Moonside report flags changing patron behaviours after COVID lockdowns as another factor inhibiting the industry. 

Jordan Baker-Moller used to manage a Rockhampton nightclub and recalls the city's nightlife before the pandemic as "vibrant" with ample entertainment options.

"You had heaps of venues open just in the CBD and genuinely thousands of people out across both Friday and Saturday night," he says.

Mr Baker-Moller says he's witnessed a decline in young people coming out after lockdowns.

"COVID was a massive reset … in the way people view a night out and how the culture works.

"A lot of places didn't really recover."

Among them was Mr Baker-Moller's former venue, which closed earlier this year.

"I do see the future … [being] around pop-up micro events that are centered more on the music and a particular culture and a particular vibe," he says.

On the main strip of coastal town Yeppoon, Leah Crowley's venue has had success homing in on one popular subculture: hosting drag queen nights. 

"For our business, it's been amazing … it has been consistently a sellout," she says.

Ms Crowley's restaurant has been hosting the bimonthly event for six years, and she says the appetite for unique events in the community is strong. 

"The support here, the confidence in numbers was incredible," she says.