Drinks sales down after three weeks of growth
The latest Daily Drinks Tracker from CGA by NIQ showed drinks sales by value in managed venues in the week to Saturday 13 July were 0.6% behind the equivalent period in 2023.
It marked the first negative number since mid-June as trade suffered by comparison to the warm weather of July 2023, when beer gardens and terraces were much fuller, with the previous tracker having shown sales were 6% up in the week to Saturday 6 July.
Huge boost
The tracker revealed sales on Wednesday 10 July rocketed 75% above the same day last year, as football fans headed to pubs to watch England defeat the Netherlands in the Euros 2024 semi-final.
However, trade was down on all six of the other days of the week, in particular on Friday and Saturday (12 and 13 July), when figures were down by 6% and 15% respectively, as many consumers chose to wait for Sunday’s Euro 2024 final before visiting the on-trade again.
Despite the Three Lions loss against Spain in the tournament final, the Euros 2024 gave a “huge boost” to the Long Alcoholic Drink (LAD) category, CGA said.
According to the data, beer and cider sales up by 6% and 4% respectively across the week, while the three other main categories measured by the tracker—wine (down 7%), soft drinks (down 7%) and spirits (down 10%)—all struggled by comparison with last year.
Careful eye
CGA by NIQ managing director UK & Ireland Jonathan Jones said: “England’s progress all the way to the Euro 2024 final has provided some bumper days for pubs, bars and beer and cider brands.
“However, a flat week overall shows drinks sales around sporting events are not necessarily incremental, and that trading is often taken away from other days.
“It’s a reminder that many consumers are still keeping a very careful eye on their spending, even during big national occasions.
“With the tournament over, venues and suppliers’ hopes for year-on-year growth will now be pinned on long-overdue warm weather.”
