Drinks sales dip 1% amid civic unrest and patchy weather

Drink sales in managed venues recorded a 1% drop in the seven days to 17 August 2024, according to CGA by NIQ’s latest Daily Drinks Tracker. 

This is the third year-on-year drop in four weeks in the wake of civic unrest and patchy weather. 

The heatwave led to year-on-year growth of 8% and 14% on Sunday and Monday (11 and 12 August), but numbers were negative for the three days after that. 

The return of the Premier League on Friday (16 August) helped drive growth of 9%, but Saturday (17 August) sales fell back 7%. 

According to CGA, the latest year-on-year drop is a “disappointment” given the widespread good weather of last week, and may reflect “consumers’ hesitancy about going out after the riots in some British cities and towns”.   

High temperatures and the return of Premier League screenings made it a good week for the cider and beer categories, where sales grew by 10% and 1% respectively. However, soft drinks (down 1%), wine (down 5%) and spirits (down 9%) were all in the red.  

Jonathan Jones, CGA by NIQ’s managing director, UK and Ireland, said: “It’s been an up-and-down summer for many On Premise venues and suppliers, with trading performance varying widely from week to week and even day to day. 

“It reflects very changeable weather in July and August, but also the contrast of powerful sales drivers like Euro 2024 and the major challenge of civic unrest. We can be optimistic that conditions will stabilise as the summer closes, but year-on-year growth will continue to be hard-won.”