Last week’s hot weather brought a 7% uplift in total drink sales, as consumers flocked to beer gardens across the UK, helping the sector return to growth after a drop in sales.
The numbers from CGA by NIQ’s Daily Drinks Tracker show a strong start to the week, coinciding with when temperatures hit 31 degrees in parts of the country.
Sunday (+17%) and Monday (+19%) experienced double-digit growth versus the same period in 2023. Tuesday saw more moderate growth at 11%, but Wednesday doubled Tuesday’s performance at +22%.
After the short heatwave, sales performance cooled off on Friday (-0.5%) and Saturday (-1.7%). Weekend performance is likely to have been negatively affected by protests across major UK towns and cities.
As popular choices in warmer weather, beer (+2.1%), cider (+19.5%), and soft drinks (+0.7%) all experienced sales growth. Spirits and wine experienced declines of –12.8% and –3.1% respectively.
“Hot weather always receives a warm welcome from the on-premise as consumers flock to beer gardens and terraces, and it’s a welcome boost to category sales,” said Jonathan Jones, CGA by NIQ’s managing director, UK and Ireland.
“But as beer, cider, and soft drinks saw a boost in sales during the warmer weather, it was a different picture for the spirits category, which continues to see notable declines.
“It’s crucial suppliers understand the spirit consumer’s changing needs, in order to create strategies that will attract people back to spirits from the other categories.”
