RTD cocktails did well in January, and “the strong year-over-year growth of RTDs in January 2021 compared to January 2020 suggests that these canned favorites are here to stay,” says Liz Paquette, Drizly’s head of consumer insights, “not just as a seasonal alternative but an important category for retailers to stock year-round.”
Mezcal’s growth in the first month of 2021 is likely to stick around for the rest of the year, she predicts. “Piggybacking off the ongoing growth of tequila, mezcal has emerged as the next Mexican spirit gaining share of sales,” says Paquette. Within the wine category, dessert and fortified wines saw high year-over-year share gains in January, driven by increasing share for styles like Port and Sherry.
She noted that there was a clear shift in consumer behavior in January. Nonalcoholic beer, wine, and spirits were the three fastest growing categories month-over-month with brands like Heineken, Athletic Brewing Company, Seedlip, Lyre’s, Fre, and Ariel leading non-alcoholic sales.
Sales of lighter, fresher alcoholic subcategories also experienced share gains month-over-month, signaling that consumers were looking for lower-ABV options or drinks perceived to be “healthier” last month. White wine share increased from 21 percent in December to 27 percent in January, while hard seltzer and light lager both gained share within the beer category (which saw share gains as a whole). Within the spirits category, vodka share increased by five percentage points, while whiskey share declined by five percentage points.
One interesting tidbit from Drizly’s latest analysis:
consumers increasingly reached for beer over liquor and wine in January. Month-over-month, beer share increased from 13 percent to 18 percent, while liquor and wine both saw share decreases (from 45 percent to 41 percent for liquor and from 41 percent to 39 percent for wine).
This is likely due to above-average liquor and wine demand over the holidays, as the categories were popular celebration and gift choices, as well as the shift towards lighter, lower-ABV products. “Beer share gains in January point to consumers reaching for lighter drinks to kick off the new year, driven by hard seltzer and light lager,” says Paquette.