Off-trade down 2% in 2017

While the off-licence’s share of alcohol consumption continues to increase over the medium term, it decreased slightly in 2017, as did overall off-licence volumes generally according to the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland’s Drinks Market Performance report for 2017.

Official comprehensive data on off-licence sales volumes are unavailable but it’s possible to make a reasonable estimate using industry information, Revenue Clearance data and the CSO’s Index of Retail Sales, states the report’s author DCU Economist Anthony Foley.

“CSO expenditure data indicate a 2016 off-licence share of alcohol market value of 27.4%,” states the report, “Because of the lower price per unit of alcohol in the off-licence sector, its share of alcohol volume is much greater. The volume share of the off-licence sector measured with the pure alcohol indicator is estimated at 61% in 2016 with a small decline to 60% in 2017.”

But sales volumes in this market segment – dominated by multiples, discounters and symbol groups – are estimated to have decreased by 2.0% in 2017.

The overall market (on- and off-licence sectors combined) decreased by 0.1%, as measured by Clearances.