A flurry of drinks sales over Christmas and New Year helped managed on-trade operators and suppliers end 2024 with a fortnight of strong real-terms growth.
CGA by NIQ’s Daily Drinks Tracker shows average sales in managed venues in the seven days to Saturday, 28th December, were 4.4% ahead of the same period in 2023. In the following week, to Saturday, 4th January, growth was even higher at 7.5%.
The late surge in trading followed negative numbers in the first half of December. Those weeks were blighted by storms in some parts of the country, but brighter and drier weather made it easier for people to come out to celebrate as Christmas and New Year got closer.
Unsurprisingly the best performing days of the festive period were Christmas Eve, which saw an uplift of 65% compared to last year, and New Year’s Eve, out-performing 2023 by 373%.
It was a particularly good final fortnight for the long alcoholic drinks (LAD) and wine categories. Beer sales were up by 6.9% and 14.5% in the weeks to 28th December and 4th January respectively, while cider sales rose 3.6% and 9.8% respectively. Beer was boosted by a surge of interest in Guinness, leading to well-publicised shortages in some pubs in the run-up to Christmas.
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Wine also achieved big gains of 8.4% and 13.8% in the two weeks. And growth was solid for soft drinks, at 3.7% and 11.3%. However, the late festive celebrations were not enough to revive the spirits category at the end of a challenging 2024, with sales down by 4.1% and 14%.
The contrasting fortunes of the main categories suggests some consumers are continuing to move away from spirits to longer serves that are perceived to offer better value for money.
“It’s always tricky to make year-on-year comparisons at this time of year, but these numbers provide cautious confidence that the on-premise can end 2024 on a high,” said Rachel Weller, CGA by NIQ’s commercial lead, UK and Ireland.
“However, suppliers and venues will need the tailwinds of decent weather and a pick-up in consumer confidence to generate real-terms growth. With many consumers choosing longer LAD serves over short ones like shots, it’s also clear that businesses will need to provide spending-conscious consumers with full value for money to keep them coming back over Christmas.”
