Drinks sales surpass 2021, but inflation slows growth
Every day of last week delivered sales ahead of 2021’s levels and all drink categories experienced growth, aside from spirits which were down 10% year-on-year
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Average drink sales in managed venues in the seven days to Saturday (15 October) were 5% ahead of the same week last year, and 4% up on the equivalent period in 2019, according to CGA by NielsenIQ’s Drinks Recovery Tracker
However, with CPI inflation reported this week to be at 10.1%, drinks sales are still well down in real terms. However, the rise in sales in Britain’s On Premise have exceeded last year’s levels for the fourth week in a row, and CGA said this growth should raise hopes for decent trading in the run-up to Christmas.
Every day of last week delivered sales ahead of 2021’s levels, with a busy round of football fixtures helping to bring people into pubs and bars. Year-on-year growth peaked at 12% on Sunday (9 October), but was lower on Friday and Saturday (14 and 15 October) at 0.3% and 1%.
For the third week in a row, sales of beer (up 13%) and cider (up 14%) were both in double-digit growth. Additionally, soft drinks (up 6%) and wine (up 5%) were up year-on-year, but spirits were down 10% against “very tough” comparatives.
Jonathan Jones, CGA’s managing director UK and Ireland, said: “It’s a tumultuous time for the UK economy and politics, but it’s very encouraging to see that people are still so keen to drink out in pubs, bars and restaurants.
“The squeeze on consumers’ discretionary spending continues to tighten, but they will hopefully sustain their enthusiasm as we move towards the first normal Christmas for three years. The football World Cup also gives us confidence that the beer and cider categories can continue their strong recent performance.”