We warned you Dry January was a threat to the bev/al industry. New data from Drizly suggests we were right on target.
Compared to last month, sales during the first two weekends in February were on average 14% higher than the average weekend sales in January.
In February 2018, sales were generally almost 10% higher week over week compared to January of last year.
Dry January is a threat not just because it leads to lower sales in January but because it will lead people to significantly reduce moderate bev/al consumption during the rest of the year.
“The simple act of taking a month off alcohol helps people drink less in the long term: by August people are reporting one extra dry day per week,” researchers at the University of Sussex in England said, adding: “There are also considerable immediate benefits: nine in 10 people save money, seven in ten sleep better and three in five lose weight.
“Interestingly, these changes in alcohol consumption have also been seen in the participants who didn’t manage to stay alcohol-free for the whole month – although they are a bit smaller. This shows that there are real benefits to just trying to complete Dry January.”