Drinks sales dip 3% year-on-year in March
Category-wise, sales of beer, cider and wine were all up by between 1% and 3% last week, whilst soft drinks were down 4% and spirits sales fell 13%
Drinks sales in the UK have dropped 3% year-on-year in the first full week of March following a strong first two months of the year, according to data from CGA Strategy.
The latest Drinks Recovery Tracker shows average sales in the week up to 11 March were 3% behind the equivalent week in March 2022.
This is the first week that sales have fallen below the levels of last year, following growth of 25%, 2% and 7% in the three previous weeks.
Wet and chilly weather made trading conditions harder for drinks-led operators in the first half of March.
Year-on-year drops peaked at -6% and -9% on 8 and 9 March but sales brightened a little on the 10 March, up 2%, before falling back down 2% on the 11 March.
Category-wise, sales of beer, cider and wine were all up by between 1% and 3% last week, whilst soft drinks were down 4% and spirits sales fell 13%.
Jonathan Jones, CGA managing director, UK and Ireland, said: After decent year-on-year growth for drinks sales in January and February, it has been a challenging start to spring.
“Pressure on disposable income combined with a cold, wet start to the month has taken a toll and the market will be hoping for better weather in the coming weeks to encourage people out to pubs and bars and loosen their spending.”
