With the pandemic still on the rise in many countries, several industries continue to suffer. The going has gone extremely tough for business owners. Since the governments worldwide have imposed varying phases of lockdowns, entrepreneurs are finding it tough to run their businesses. The same is the case with local breweries and pubs. However, beer, especially hard seltzer, has seen a bump in their sales even as the pandemic rages on.
As per Nielsen, the week of 4th July in 2020 saw an unprecedented increase in hard seltzer sales. Off-premise retailers selling hard seltzer made a total of $138 million. It amounts to a whopping 134% increase compared to the 2019 4th of July week. The category of beer was carried entirely by hard seltzers. FMBs, cider, and beer saw an increase of 6.6%.
4th Of July Week Saw The Highest Beer Sales Of The Year
The firm also confirmed that the 4th of July week was the highest sales period for this year. Even the week before the 4th of July week saw an increase of 15.3% in off-premise beer sales.
However, Nielsen VP Danelle Kosmal said that considering the July 4th celebrations, a higher bump in Sales is generally expected. For instance, as the 4th of July week ended last year, beer, cider, FMB sales had gone up by 26% in comparison to the week before.
She added that another method of examination would be to look at the average of July 4th week against other weeks of the year. She further explained that the beer category had seen a 43% higher off-premise sales on the 4th of July week last year. Meanwhile, 2020 saw slightly lower at 36%.
Moreover, a total of 11.9% of sales was because of hard seltzers. Truly and White Claw alone accounted for at least 70% of the growth.
Other hard seltzers topping the sales were Bud Light, Corona, Smirnoff. Vizzy, Natty Light, Bon Viv, Wild Basin, and Press.
Beer Dollar Sales Not As Big As Expected Due To Lack Of Imported Products
Kosmal further explained that the July 4th 2020 week beers sales would have been even bigger if imported products had been in stock. She also said that the assessment might not be exact, as some business owners might not have reported their sales in a precise manner.
An increase of 5.6% was seen in the super-premium category. Meanwhile, off-premise craft beer sales fell flat. Premium lights, below premium, and cider saw a significant decline too: -3.3%, -3.4%, and -8.4% respectively. The sharp fall was unexpected since holidays usually bring a bump for beer sales.
Read: You Can Create A Glorious Hard Seltzer Using The Alchemator
Since the onslaught of the pandemic, beer sales have seen a 27.4% increase in the food channel, but the holiday sales were up by only 7.3%. However, beer sales outpaced grocery sales in convenience stores with an increase of 9.4%.
The 4th of July week was the first week beer sales had outdone grocery sales in C-stores, all thanks to hard seltzers.
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