Growth rates for beer, wine, and spirits sales in off-premise channels slowed for the week ending 3/28/20 compared to the huge levels we reported in the previous week ending 3/21/20–yet sales are still much higher than what we would typically see for the last week of March, Nielsen said.
- Total Alcohol sales were up 22% in Nielsen off-premise channels for the week ending 3/28/20.
- Beer/FMB/Cider dollar sales were up 17%, and beer excluding FMBs/ciders was up 10%.
- Spirits and wine sales remained well above year ago (each were +27%).
- Total alcohol e-commerce sales skyrocketed +291% vs. the same week a year earlir, and was the fastest-growing department in percentage terms, albeit on a lower base than most others.)
“Not unexpectedly given the stunning consumer purchasing levels we saw in the two previous weeks, while sales still grew significantly versus one year ago in the week ending March 28, 2020, they also dropped significantly versus last week’s levels. It appears that this week was an ‘adjustment’ week during which consumers moved away from the same level of stocking up we saw previously,” said Danny Brager, Senior VP-Beverage Alcohol at Nielsen:
Beer, flavored malt beverages and cider saw super premiums rise 18%. Excluding ciders, FMB and cider were up 18%. Cider was up 15% and craft was up 15%. Nielsen noted that seltzers continued to drive much of the category growth. For the last week of March, hard seltzers were up 327% and gained 2.5 share points compared to pre-COVID 19 times periods. March, hard seltzers were up 327% and gained 2.5 share points compared to pre-COVID 19 times periods.
Wine sales were well below last week’s huge sales levels (-24%). But many of the same patterns held:
- 1.5L and 750 ml growth rates were still strong and relatively of the same magnitude, while 3L box growth was still enormous (+80% this week).
- Within the bottle segment, $11-$25 price tier growth rates were better than the $8-$11 range, which in turn was better than sub-$8 (equivalent 750 ml). That said, ALL were up double digits.
- Wine.com growth rates were in the triple-digit range.
The top 10 brands of wine in aggregate (dollars) pre-COVID 19 picked up an additional 1.5 share points to further expand their combined leadership; within Nielsen measured off-premise channels, an additional share point represents $170MM annually. The single biggest share jump from within that top 10: Bota Box!
Spirits sales were well below last week’s huge sales levels (-29%) but still featured impressive growth.
Within the category, ready-to-drink spirits were by far the runaway leader (+72% vs. a year ago), with Tequila the next highest growth sub-category (+45%). RTDs and Tequila growth also led the way pre-COVID. Cordials, gin, American and Irish whiskeys followed in growth–all between +30 to +40%. Only one segment (Scotch) did NOT grow vs. last year.
The top 10 brands of spirits in aggregate (dollars) pre-COVID 19 picked up an additional 1.3 share points to further expand their combined leadership; within Nielsen measured off-premise channels, an additional share point represents $155MM annually. The single biggest share jump within that top 10: Titos – No. 1 before but now with an even larger lead vs others than before.