Bev/al sales in all key states tracked by CGA are now double-digit positive versus 2020, with the latest week being the first to be affected by COVID-19 two years ago. Some cities jumped the gun on St. Patrick’s Day , , choosing not to wait for the day itself but rather to celebrate on the preceding. Chicago experiencing a 34% uplift versus the average Saturday in 2022, driven by higher traffic (64%).
Over recent weeks, velocity in the US has been steady, and trends versus 2021 remain strong for Total US (+27%). BeverageTrak data reveals trends are slightly lower in Florida (+13%) and Texas (+8%) versus last year due to far fewer COVID-19 restrictions in these states compared to New York, Illinois and California.
What about key states? According to CGA:
Florida
- Sales velocity is now +31% vs March 14, 2020
- Sales velocity is now +13% year-over-year (comparing the same week one year prior)
- Sales velocity is now +2% vs March 5, 2022
Illinois
- Sales velocity is now +40% vs March 14, 2020
- Sales velocity is now +42% year-over-year (comparing the same week one year prior)
- Sales velocity is now +4% vs March 5, 2022
California
- Sales velocity is now +72% vs March 14, 2020
- Sales velocity is now +56% year-over-year (comparing the same week one year prior)
- Sales velocity is now +3% vs March 5, 2022
New York
- A later Winter storm in New York, which cut power and caused disruption, resulted in trends of -29% in the state for the most recent Saturday versus the previous Saturday
- Sales velocity is now +59% vs March 14, 2020
- Sales velocity is now +50% year-over-year (comparing the same week one year prior)
- Sales velocity is now -1% vs March 5, 2022
Texas
- Sales velocity is now +38% vs March 14, 2020
- Sales velocity is now +8% year-over-year (comparing the same week one year prior)
- Sales velocity is now -3% vs March 5, 2022
Matthew Crompton, CGA Client Solutions Director, Americas, said: “The market is now +27% versus the same time in 2021, so it’s fair to say that the channel is continuing to build back at speed.”
Crompton said CGA was preparing to launch “our biggest ever enhancement to OPM, our flagship measurement service. These new enhancements will be an industry-first in terms of the level of detail we can provide – making 20 DMAs, 20 states and sub-channels available for share and trend tracking.”