Beer, wine and spirits (BWS) have driven supermarket spending up over the four weeks to July 13, thanks to summer sports promotions.  

The July NIQ report said that promotions accounted for 51% of BWS purchases over the period. 

The fast rate of growth was caused by a warm week of British weather at the end of June and the Euro 2024 football matches, according to the report.  

It is also congruent with the consumer desire for good prices and the NIQ findings show that one in three households will stock up on their preferred brand when it’s on promotion.  

In wider retail, total till sales at UK supermarkets grew +3.6% in the four weeks, up from a 1.1% increase the previous month.  

Likewise, the number of online sales increased +3.8%. 

Despite promotional sales however, drinks sales did not fare well when compared to the June 2023 heat wave. BWS experienced a value growth of +1.3% (unit -0.8%) and soft drinks sales were down -1.3% in value. 

Commenting on the most recent data, Mike Watkins, NIQ’s UK head of retailer and business insight, said: “The three major things that influence how shoppers spend are the weather, events and increased promotional activity. In the last few weeks all of these have been in play however, we’ve seen that strong branded promotions around Euro 2024 had the biggest impact at the start of the summer.” 

The best performing category over the Euro 2024 football tournament was crisps and snacks, which experienced a unit growth of +6%, over the past four weeks.