Drinks sales drop 13% on pre-Covid levels

On Premise drinks sales dropped 13% last week (in the seven days to 27 August) compared to pre-Covid levels in 2019, and were flat year-on-year compared to summer 2021, according to CGA by Nielsen IQ’s Drinks Recovery Tracker.

CGA said that after a solid start to August, managed venues found conditions in the second half of the month were much tougher, and average sales in the seven days to Saturday (27 August) were just 0.5% up on the equivalent week one year ago.

Drinks sales fluctuated over the course of the week, running ahead of 2019 by double digits on Tuesday and Wednesday (23 and 24 August) but falling behind on Friday and Saturday (26 and 27 August).

All five key drinks categories were well below the levels of three years ago, though soft drinks (down 9%) and beer (down 10%) fared better than wine (down 16%), cider (down 19%) and spirits (down 26%).

Jonathan Jones, CGA’s managing director of UK and Ireland, said: “The bank holiday weekend makes comparisons tricky, but it’s clear that drinks sales are well short of hoped-for levels—especially when we take into account the effects of inflation.

“With weekend sales particularly slow, we may well be seeing the effects of consumers becoming more cautious with their discretionary spending. On Premise businesses will need to be at the top of their game to generate growth in the final four months of the year, and the sector needs and deserves proper government support on soaring costs.”