Drinks sales hit by reduction in 'big nights out'
The latest Daily Drinks Tracker from CGA by NIQ revealed drinks sales by value across managed venues showed “fractional” growth overall in the week to Saturday 28 October, up 0.4% compared with the same period last year.
While the week started and ended in growth, with year-on-year upswings of 13% on Sunday 22 and 2% on Saturday 28 October, thanks to sporting events and Halloween celebrations, daily sales were down between 1% and 4% every other day as stormy weather raged across the country.
Wild weather
CGA by NIQ managing director UK and Ireland Jonathan Jones: “After a good start to the Autumn, venues and suppliers struggled for drinks sales growth in the second half of October.
“Wild weather hasn’t helped, and England’s semi-final defeat in the Rugby World Cup denied pubs and bars a bumper Saturday.”
The figures were in line with recent weekend patterns showing solid sales on Sundays but softer trading on Fridays as some consumers restrict their big nights out, CGA said.
In addition, the data followed a drop of 0.2% over the previous seven days, which in turn came after eight weeks of sales growth out of nine.
Consumer confidence
Category-wise, beer (up 5%) and cider (up 4%) were the best performers, with wine (up 3%) not far behind. However, soft drinks (down 5%) and spirits (down 9%) were weaker.
Jones added: “Consumers who stayed at home during Storms Babet and Ciarán will hopefully release some pent-up spending.
“The Bank of England’s holding of interest rates may also help to improve consumers’ confidence as we move towards the all-important run-up to Christmas.”
