Wine was the top selling category on Drizly for New Year’s Eve 2021 with a 49% share of sales, followed by liquor (39% share). Both gained one percentage point share compared to the previous year. Beer saw a 1 peercentage pint decline, to 10% share of sales.
Premiumization won out in some top categories. The average unit price in the Champagne and sparkling wine subcategory was $34.20 on New Year’s Eve 2021 (up 10% from NYE 2020). Tequila’s average unit price was $53.40 (up 13%), while red wine’s average unit price was $22.50 (up 15.4%).
The alcohol industry’s pandemic recovery will reach pre-pandemic levels by 2023, according to IWSR, with significant help from e-commerce, which grew 45% globally from 2019 to 2020. And people are trading up across alcohol categories: IWSR predicts a more than 25% increase in total sales volume of premium wine and spirits between 2020 and 2025, compared to a 0.8 percent volume growth for lower price tiers, Dizly notes
Sparkling Wine Wins Again
Champagne and sparkling wine stood out with a 64% share of sales in the wine category, holding steady over last year. Champagne took the lion’s share of those sales with a 69 percent share of the subcategory (the same as New Year’s Eve 2020).
Prosecco was another bubbly people turned to, though it saw a slight drop compared to last year (13% subcategory share versus a 15% share in 2020). Sparkling rosé wine gained one percentage point year-over-year to reach a 9% subcategory share in 2021.
The red wine subcategory held a 19% of the wine category share (compared to 20% in 2020), and white wine had an 11% share (compared to 10%in 2020).
The top five wine brands on New Year’s Eve 2021 were the same as in 2020. The other half of the top 10 saw movement, with Perrier-Jouët moving up three positions, Chandon moving up one position, Josh Cellars dropping two positions, and Mionetto dropping three positions. Luc Belaire is the only new name on the list, while Barefoot fell from the top 10 compared to last year.