Off-trade beer and cider sales show gradual increase through September
Beer and cider sales picked up slightly in the off-trade last week, according to the most recent data from Nielsen.
The beer category saw an uplift of 22% for the week ending September 19, in comparison to the same week in 2019. Cider sales rose by 17% for the same period.
These figures reflect a gradual increase in off-trade beer and cider sales throughout September 2020, with restrictions in the on-trade – and better weather conditions - potentially helping to drive footfall back into the retail sector.
Rob Hallworth, client delivery team leader at Nielsen, said: “There hasn’t been much movement in off-trade sales this week although improved weather helped cider and beer sales pick up slightly.”
Hallworth also noted spirits sales dropped for the second week in a row with an increase of 15% in spirits sales for the week, compared to 20% the previous week and 25% for the first week of September.
Looking at the Covid period to date (February 1 to September 19) each category has recorded double digit growth (apart from Champagne), with the strongest growth overall showing in the cider and beer categories, which have grown 32% and 29% respectively over the period.
