That’s because of a continued restrictions in bars and restaurants as well as a second round of closures in some markets, Nielsen says. Off-premise dollar sales grew 17.6% in September and October compared to the same period last year. Spirits led off premise growth, up 26.3%, followed by wine up 18.9%, and beer/FMB/cider up 13.9%. Core beer (excluding FMB and seltzers) grew 8.7%, lagging total consumer goods.
Spirits
For September and October 2020, dollar growth rates for off premise spirits were up 26.3% compared to 2019, slowing some since the summer. Spirit categories driving growth have been consistent throughout most of COVID, with tequila up 55.5%, cognac up 56.2%, and ready-to-drink cocktails up 131% for September and October. Cordials are still performing relatively strongly, up 32.1%, as is American whiskey, which is up 29.8%.
Among these top-growing categories, tequila gained the most share, up 2.1 points. Cognac is up 1.1 share points, RTD cocktails are up nearly a share point (+0.8), and American whiskey is up 0.5 points, while total whiskey is down -0.5 points, driven by slower growth rates for Canadian whisky and Scotch.
Most of the share gains came at the expense of share losses to Vodka, which is down 3 points in dollar share and up 12.1% in dollar growth, lagging growth of most other spirit categories.
Premiumization in spirits continues at a similar pace to previous time periods during COVID. Ultra premium spirits are up 50%, premium spirits up 28.7%, mid-tier spirits up 13.4%, and value spirits up 3.9%. Ultra and premium spirits are gaining share at faster rates than in pre-COVID time periods.
Wine
Total wine grew 18.9% in off premise channels, Nielsen says. Table wine was up 15.1%, while sparkling wine grew even faster than previous COVID time periods, up 35.7% compared to last year, driven in great part by champagne (+71.3%).
Beer/FMB/Cider
Total Beer/FMB/cider is up 13.9% in off-premise channels, according to Nielsen. Segments driving growth are seltzers (+103%), hard tea (+38%), super premium (+19.7%), craft (+15.4%), and cider (+14.9%).
While still small, both hard kombucha (+129%) and non-alcoholic beer (+41%) are outperforming most other beer segments, indicating a continued interest in health and wellness — a trend that was growing prior to COVID and seems to continue as consumers seek alternatives for mindful drinking. For September/October, hard seltzers accounted for 9% of total category dollars, down from summer months, but up 4 points compared to Sept/Oct last year.
On Premise
On premise velocity in outlets that are currently operational has increased +233% for the week of Nov. 7 vs. March 28, when the on premise shutdown first commenced. Velocity in the latest week is down -26% compared to last year. Average outlet $ sales (velocity) are up +4% in the latest week (Nov. 7 vs. Oct. 31) across the U.S.
This growth should be viewed within the context of declines in the week to Oct. 31, where velocity was down -9% across the U.S. vs last week. Of the five states analyzed (Calif., Fla., Tex., Ill., N.Y.), all are flat or growing in velocity for the week ending Nov. 7 vs. Oct. 31. Following two weeks of significant velocity decline, Illinois shows velocity growth of +1% Nov. 7 v Oct. 31.
However, Chicago enters its fourth week of consecutive decline, down 37% Nov. 7 v Oct. 10. The complete closure of all in-dining had an effect here. Texas remains the best state benchmarked against performance versus last year, with velocity in outlets that are operational in Texas being down only -7% Nov.7, 2020 v Nov. 9, 2019.
Online Alcohol
While online alcohol sales have slowed from the 500+% growth rates during peak pantry-loading months earlier this year, they still continue to outperform most other consumer goods categories. For the month of September, online alcohol sales were up 256% compared to last year. Similar to offline sales, spirits led growth up 354%, followed by beer/FMB/cider up 274%, and wine up 234%. While wine continues to lead in share of online alcohol sales, that lead is diminishing, down 4.5 points compared to September of last year.