A winning combination of the Euros final, the return of the Premier League, and good comparative weather contributed to on-trade drinks sales defying current pressures in the latest week.
As a result, they helped to contribute to the best average value growth since the Jubilee weekend two months ago.
CGA by NielsenIQ’s Drinks Recovery Tracker shows average sales by value in managed venues in the seven days to Saturday, 6th August, were 4% ahead of the same week in 2019.
However, with inflation still running significantly higher, there needs to be more positive weeks like this for the remainder of the summer to ensure businesses can fight back against rising costs and mounting debts.
Five of the seven days were in 2022-on-2019 growth: Sunday (up 10%) kicked off the week in style, courtesy of England’s Euro victory. Monday (up 6%), Tuesday (up 4%), and Wednesday (up 8%) delivered continued solid results.
Thursday (-0.5%) and Friday (-0.6%) dipped into flat performance as the weather turned cooler. But Saturday (+6%) rounded the week off satisfactorily, with the return of six Premier League fixtures, two of which were televised, and also an earlier than usual start to the 2022-23 season.
On a category basis, cider prevailed in the warmer summer climate, with 12% growthversus three years ago. In addition, spirits (+10%), beer (+5%) and soft drinks (+5%) also saw decent growth. Wine again remained at the back of the pack (-11%).
“An exciting week on the football pitch has helped to deliver a great start for drinks sales in on-premise in August,” said Jonathan Jones, CGA by NielsenIQ’s managing director, UK and Ireland.
“And with temperatures forecasted to soar, the appetite of casual consumers, holidaymakers, and day trippers will hopefully deliver strong August results. This will hopefully provide a welcome relief amidst the headwinds that operators and suppliers are increasingly facing, in terms of inflation, rising costs, and ongoing supply chain issues and staffing challenges.”
