Pubs and bars ended a flat 2025 with a strong fortnight of drinks sales and a standout week for spirits, NIQ’s latest Daily Drinks Tracker shows.
Average sales in managed venues in the week to Saturday, 27th December, rose 3.1% from the same period in 2024 — roughly in line with Britain’s rate of inflation. Like-for-likes then soared by 10.7% in the following week to Saturday, 3rd January, as consumers went out to celebrate New Year’s Eve.
The excellent final week of 2025 took the Daily Drinks Tracker to its second highest point of the whole year. It also means that year-on-year comparisons have been positive every week since late October, raising hopes that 2026 might provide stronger growth for the sector.
It was a particularly good week for the spirits category, which achieved a year-on-year increase of 6.5% — comfortably its best performance of the year. While many spirits purchases centred on New Year’s celebrations, it is a positive sign for the category as 2026 begins.
After the final burst of growth in 2025, the Daily Drinks Tracker shows trading flattened again in early January. Average sales rose by only 0.8% in the week to Saturday, 10th January, as consumers returned to work and tightened their spending after Christmas.
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Spirits (down 6.1%) were back in negative territory, but beer (up 2%) and cider (up 3.2%) held up well. With millions of people embarking on Dry January, soft drinks (up 3.3%) performed best of all.
“After a challenging year for drinks sales, it was very encouraging to see operators and suppliers achieve real-terms growth in the final fortnight,” said Rachel Weller, CGA by NIQ’s commercial lead, UK & Ireland.
“It’s obvious that consumers are as keen as ever to celebrate big occasions like Christmas and New Year’s Eve by drinking out with families and friends, and enjoying the special experiences that only pubs and bars are able to provide.
“With Dry January starting and the costs of doing business still rising, there’s no escaping the fact that trading conditions remain difficult. But 10 straight weeks of growth in the Daily Drinks Tracker does mean that the on-premise can be cautiously hopeful that people are gradually starting to relax their spending.”
