Easter Week wine sales up 10%

Off-trade sales of spirits witnessed a considerable uplift in value over the St Patrick’s Day/Mothers’ Day Bank Holiday Weekend this year with a rise in value of 16 per cent compared to the same period last year according to figures from Nielsen, with increased sales across the ‘spirits variants’.

Beers sales were also up four per cent as the Six Nation’s final game provided yet another occasion to celebrate, “However wine value performance was down two per cent despite retailer promotions and offers. New World wine did well, however the decline in Old World resulted in a negative impact in the overall wine category in the multiple supermarkets”.

Nielsen reports that wine experienced a good Easter Week with wine sales rising 10 per cent compared to the same period in 2011.

According to Nielsen, “Growth was driven by Table Wine (Sparkling down four per cent). Spirits also did well for Easter, sales were up eight per cent, with retailers and suppliers providing strong offers for the key seasonal event”.

But beers were down despite significant multi-pack offers in the major multiple retailers. In fact beer sales out-performed in the previous Bank Holiday weekend St Patrick’s Day/Mothers’ Day).