Drinks sales up 7% as heatwave hits the country

Total drinks sales in the UK rose 7% for the week ended 3 August 2024 as a heatwave hit the country, according to data from CGA.

On 28 and 29 July, drinks sales rose 17% and 19% respectively compared with the same period in 2023.

Tuesday saw more moderate growth at 11%, but Wednesday doubled Tuesday’s performance with growth of 22%.

However, sales performance cooled off alongside the weather with sales down 0.5% on 2 August and 1.7% on 3 August.

This may have also been linked to the rioting across various towns throughout the UK.

Beer (2.1%), cider (19.5%), and soft drinks (0.7%) all experienced sales growth as popular drinks in hot weather.

However, as a result spirits and wine experienced declines of 12.8% and 3.1% respectively.

Jonathan Jones, CGA by NIQ’s managing director, UK and Ireland, said: “Hot weather always receives a warm welcome from the On Premise, as consumers flock to beer gardens and terraces and it’s a welcome boost to category sales.

“But as beer, cider, and soft drinks saw a boost in sales during the warmer weather, it was a different picture for the spirits category which continues to see notable declines. It’s crucial suppliers understand the spirit consumer’s changing needs, in order to create strategies that will attract people back to spirits from the other categories.”