Drinks sales rise amid soaring weather conditions
However, spirits saw a -16% hit in growth due to the comparison against A-level results day in 2019, and wine dropped to -19%, which is the ‘worst result in months’
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Average sales by value in managed venues in the week to Saturday 13 August were 9% ahead of the same week in 2019 amid soaring temperatures, and total drinks levels were up 13% year-on-year, although this is an inflated figure as 2021 was down by -5% on pre-Covid levels for this week.
According to CGA by NielsenIQ’s Drinks Recovery Tracker, cider continued to dominate in the hot weather with a 45% surge in sales compared to 2019. Softs also generated +15% growth and beer saw growth of +10%.
Spirits reached +8% growth which was impacted by Thursday, with a -16% hit to the category due to the comparison against A-level results day in 2019. Additionally, wine dropped to -19%, which is the “worst result in months”.
Overall, six of the seven days showed growth compared to 2019, and Sunday started the week at +9%, with Monday delivering an +21% growth.
However, Tuesday fell to +14%, before Wednesday delivered the strongest performance of the week at +24%. Thursday dropped +4%, which CGA said was likely due to A-level results falling on this day in 2019.
Friday welcomed the weekend at +12%, however Saturday closed the week on -2% despite continued hot weather. CGA said the comparison to the first full day of Premier League fixtures in 2019 potentially accounted for the deficit.
Looking ahead to the following week, Sunday 14 August bounced back to +15%. Cider was +54% and spirits jumped to +44% before temperatures started to cool. CGA said that A-level results are expected to underpin sales on Thursday and deliver strongly in the spirits category.
