Drinks sales boost shows 'value' of celebratory occasions

The latest Daily Drinks Tracker from CGA by NIQ showed drinks sales by value across managed venues were 1% ahead of 2023 in the seven days to Saturday 23 March, attributed to St Patrick’s Day and the FA Cup quarter-finals.

It followed a 1% increase over the previous week and 5% growth in the seven days before that.

Earlier on in the month, Mother’s Day (Sunday 10 March) saw wine sales rocket​ by 48% while footfall that week also showing positive numbers thanks to sporting events such as the Manchester football derby and the Six Nations Rugby tournament.

Solid trading 

Pubs and bars benefited from St Patrick’s Day falling on a Sunday (17 March) this year, with sales were 13% ahead of the equivalent Sunday last year and the FA Cup quarter-finals also brought people out to drink.

However, while solid trading continued through the rest of the week, the weekend saw tougher comparisons with sales down year-on-year by 2% and 6% on Friday and Saturday (15 and 16 March) respectively.

St Patrick’s Day also made it a good period for the Long Alcoholic Drinks (LAD) category, helping to push beer and cider sales both to 8% ahead of last year.

Though soft drinks (down 8%), wine (down 8%) and spirits (down 6%) were all in the red.

Positive indicator 

CGA by NIQ managing director UK and Ireland Jonathan Jones said: “St Patrick’s Day continues to deliver for pubs, bars and drinks brands.

“Hot on the heels of Mother’s Day, it’s another reminder of the value of celebratory occasions to the on premise.

“More modest growth on other days suggests some consumers are saving their money for big events like these and cutting down on more everyday occasions, and recent wet weather won’t have helped general spending.

“Nevertheless, three straight weeks of year-on-year growth is a positive indicator for the rest of spring and summer.”