When COVID-19 forced restaurants, bars, and other settings where alcohol is served to close or limit sales, we assumed alcohol sales would dry up. However, quite the opposite has happened: alcohol sales are flourishing. Alcoholic beverage sales jumped 55% in the third week of March YOY. In fact, Spirits sales grew 75%, wine by 66%, flavored malts and ciders by 42%, and beer by 34%.
Regular patrons of restaurants, bars, and other venues with liquor find themselves looking for new ways to both socialize and enjoy their favorite beverage of choice - be it a zoom happy hour or dinner with family. As a result, the retail alcohol industry is booming, and new patterns are emerging as people adapt to the “new normal.” By observing the purchase trends of wine and spirits, we’ve found that consumers are gravitating towards value-priced brands during these times of economic uncertainty.
In this report, we’ve leveraged InMarket’s data to rank the most popular spirits and wine brands that consumers are buying during the COVID-19 pandemic.
