Britain’s on-trade drinks sales have closed out the winter with three successive weeks of above-inflation growth, according to CGA by NIQ’s Daily Drinks Tracker.
Can St Patrick’s Day celebrations boost on-trade sales even further?
After a challenging January and early February, sales recovered in the third week of February — and momentum has continued.
The Tracker indicates growth of 4% in the week to Saturday, 1st March, as a spell of bright weather moved in and February pay cheques unlocked some extra spending. Sales were comfortably ahead on six of the seven days of the week, and peaked at 14% on 28th February.
Even stronger trading followed in the following week, to 8th March, as sales ran 8% ahead of the equivalent period in 2024. There was growth of 14% on the Saturday, the sunniest day of the year so far.
The warmer temperatures and Six Nations rugby fixtures made it a very good fortnight for long alcoholic drinks (LAD) categories. Beer sales were up by 5% and 9% in the weeks to 1st and 8th March, while cider performed even better, at 7% and 17% ahead. The upswing is another indicator of the powerful effect of sunshine and sport on LAD purchases.
“After tough winter trading conditions for suppliers and venues, these figures are hopefully a sign of brighter times to come,” said Rachel Weller, CGA by NIQ’s commercial lead, UK and Ireland.
“Sales were well above current rates of inflation across nearly all days and categories, and with the triple celebrations of St Patrick’s Day and Mother’s Day to come, we can be cautiously optimistic about further real-terms growth.
“However, much will depend on the weather, consumer confidence is still volatile, and some significant cost rises are looming. Businesses will have to stay laser-focused on people’s needs and on-premise trends to sustain sales and protect margins.”
