Register to get 5 free articles
Reveal the article below by registering for our email newsletter.
Want unlimited access? View Plans
Already have an account? Sign in
Drinks sales in the seven days to Saturday 12 August were down 2% on the same week last year due to bad weather, CGA by NIQ’s daily drinks tracker shows.
While this decline was less severe than the previous week’s low of -6%, the tracker experienced a modest recovery thanks to improved temperatures toward the week’s end and the allure of exciting sporting events on Saturday.
Drinks-led operators have faced more challenging trading conditions in the first half of August. Year-on-year sales were down by 15% on Tuesday (8 August), but brightened a little on Thursday (up 3%) as temperature rose, before falling back down (down 1%) on Friday.
Saturday ended the week on a positive note (up 5%), helped by the return of the Premier League and Anthony Joshua’s fight at Wembley.
Category-wise, sales of beer and wine were up 2% and 14% last week, whilst spirits sales were down 7% and soft drinks fell 8%. Cider meanwhile continued to struggle due to the weather (down 20%).
Jonathan Jones, CGA’s managing director, UK and Ireland, said: “While challenges driven by poor weather conditions persist, there are promising signs of resilience and adaptability in the sector and it’s great to see that the week finished on a high note. The return of the Premier League has no doubt helped and the trends show that consumers are still keen to come out into trade, given a good reason to do so.”
