On-trade drinks sales slipped below last year’s levels in June, despite some encouraging spells of growth, CGA by NIQ’s latest Daily Drinks Tracker shows.
Average sales in managed venues in the week to Saturday, 14th June, were 5% behind the same week in 2024, and losses widened to 7% in the following seven days to 21st June. It means trading was negative in three of the four full weeks of the month.
June’s figures follow a modest performance in May when temperatures dipped across the country. However, this came on the back of a strong spring, when trading was up year on year in nearly every week between February and late April.
The Tracker’s daily breakdowns indicate some better spells of trading, including growth on three straight days from Monday 16th to Wednesday 18th June, and Thursday 26th to Saturday 28th June. This coincided with brighter weather in many parts of the country.
However, daily numbers were down by double digits on several other days — the result of cooler weather in some parts and tough comparatives with a hot June in 2024.
A breakdown of categories shows cider and soft drinks delivered a solid fortnight. Cider sales were up by 6% in the week to 14th June, but down by 9% in the week to 21st June. Soft drinks rose 6% and dipped 2% over the same periods.
Beer (down 6% and 5%) was in line with the market as a whole. The spirits and wine categories had a much tougher end to June. Spirits were down 11% and 12% in the two weeks, while wine was 15% and 13% behind.
“After a bright spring, operators and suppliers have had to adapt to some sizeable challenges in recent weeks,” said Rachel Weller, CGA by NIQ’s commercial lead, UK and Ireland. “Variable weather and hesitant consumer spending haven’t helped, and employers have also been forced to cope with sharp increases in costs since April.
“Despite this difficult environment, venues have achieved some robust growth in some categories and warmer days. This raises hopes that spending will increase over July and August, and the long-term outlook for well-run and responsive on-premise businesses remains good.”
