That’s well above the 350% increase in Drizly sales for all of 2020, which suggest there was a real boost at the end.
“The overwhelming demand for alcohol delivery was likely boosted by new consumers who have discovered the convenience of ordering alcohol online this year, as well as Covid-related restrictions shuttering restaurants and bars and limiting large private gatherings,” Drizly said, adding that in a Drizly pre-New Year’s Eve survey, 70.8% of consumers reported planned to spend the holiday at home, which was up from 61.2% the year prior.
Wine accounted for 48% of all sales on New Year’s Eve, up from 41% for December overall. Champagne comprised 65% of wine sales, up from 60% in 2019, and more than double the category’s overall December sales.
What brands performed best? Veuve Clicquot, Moet & Chandon, La Marca, and Dom Perignon all beat out Tito’s, the first non-sparkling wine among the top 10. Tito’s, in turn, barely exceeding Korbel. Casamigos, White Claw, Hennessy and Don Julio closed out Drizly’s top 10 list.
“New Year’s Eve is typically a holiday where consumers splurge on alcohol purchases to celebrate,” says Liz Paquette, head of consumer insights,“and this was even more so the case in 2020, made evident with trading up behavior in the sparkling wine category.” At the same time, segments like Prosecco, Cava, and American sparkling wine all experienced diminished year-over-year share, with Prosecco’s share specifically dropping by a third.
Retailers should expect that consumers will continue to trade up on sparkling wine purchases by reaching for Champagne, Paquette says, adding:
“Given the year-over-year growth in Champagne this New Year’s Eve, we expect this subcategory within the sparkling wine category to remain strong, as consumers continue to celebrate milestones and occasions at home in 2021.”
Though liquor share on New Year’s Eve declined compared to December overall (38 percent versus 44 percent, respectively), many consumers turned to cocktails to ring in the new year.
“With on-premise venues closed for the holiday, consumers recreated the experience at home by shaking up their favorite cocktails,” says Paquette. In Drizly’s pre-New Year’s Eve consumer survey, the majority of consumers (43.7 percent) indicated they were most likely to reach for cocktails to ring in the new year, surpassing those who were most likely to reach for Champagne and sparkling wine by more than four percentage points.
This was reflected in subcategories like liqueurs, cordials, and schnapps, which held nine percent of liquor share on New Year’s Eve 2020 — a 50 percent share growth from New Year’s Eve 2019. Other major liquor subcategories on New Year’s Eve were whiskey at 36 percent of liquor share, vodka at 18 percent of liquor share, and tequila at 18 percent of liquor share.
As one of the big winners of 2020 overall, tequila’s year-over-year share remained steady at 18 percent of New Year’s Eve liquor sales. However, this further cements tequila’s status as a go-to spirit; on New Year’s Eve, it held the same liquor share as the vodka subcategory.