Off-trade

Take-home alcohol still highest-growing grocery sector

With the on-trade still closed, take-home alcohol remained the highest-growing sector of the grocery market according to Nielsen TSR data to the 7th of February 2021.
So far, the first week of February has shown growth of 48% in alcohol sales over the same week in 2020.

So far, the first week of February has shown growth of 48% in alcohol sales over the same week in 2020.

Take-home alcohol accounted for 29% of total market growth – more than any other grocery sector – over the 12-week period to the 7th of February and it grew by 37% over the 52 weeks to the 7th of February according to NielsenIQ’s latest FMCG Market Update.

While take-home alcohol growth rates were lower in January, perhaps as people partook in ‘Dry January’, sales of No Alcohol Lo Alcohol Beers experienced a 48% off-trade uplift in that month compared with January 2020. NABLAB sales increased 47% in the first week of February giving an overall growth figure of 30% for the 52 weeks to the 7th of February compared with the same period 12 months previously.

On a year-on-year basis, take-home beer sales grew 54% in the year to the 7th of February while spirits sales grew 29% and wine 25%.

In comparing growth in the first four weeks of this year to that in 2020, Nielsen found that total alcohol sales grew 35% with beer up 49%, spirits up 25%, wine up 27% and NABLABs up 48% when compared to January 2020.

So far, the first week of February has shown growth of 48% in alcohol sales over the same week in 2020 while beer sales showed growth of 62%, spirits sales 36%, wine sales 42% and NABLAB sales 47%.

 

Ice cubes

It’s also interesting to note that sales of ‘ice cubes’ were up 69% in the first week of February.

Ice cube sales showed growth all round, with sales up 35% in the year to February compared to the same period in 2020 and they were up 17% in January compared to January 2020.

 

 

 


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