Online retail sales of beer, wine and spirits declined in August, according to the latest IMRG Capgemini Online Retail Index. 

Despite August seeing some of the hottest days of the year, the BWS category saw some of the “sharpest declines”, with a -20.6% drop in sales compared to the previous year. Overall online retail sales have declined -14% since January 2022 across all categories, with August marking the 17th month in a row of negative growth since May 2021. 

The index, which tracks the online sales performance of around 200 retailers, found overall sales were down -4.1% year-on-year, in August 2022. Overall monthly growth was also down, with a -6.2% decline in sales compared to July 2022. 

Simon Binge, commerce senior manager for customer transformation at Capgemini, suggested that retailers are struggling to balance “rising costs” with discounts to entice customers, adding:  “Retailers are already being cautious with promotions, with only 33% of sales being generated by promotional activity or discounted price, vs 42% during the same period last year. With this in mind, retailers will need to explore other opportunities for increasing orders and basket value outside of deep discounts.”