The latest data from CGA by NIQ’s Daily Drinks Tracker showed sales in managed venues rose by 2.8% year-on-year in the week to 27 September, and by 0.1% in the week ending 4 October, attributed to dry and bright autumnal weather.
Additionally, the return of students to university towns boosted mid-week visits to the on-trade.
However, Storm Amy dampened the number of visits, in early October, triggering a 10.3% drop in average sales on 3 October, with Friday 2 October down 1.7% and Sunday 4 October down 3.4%.
Modest margins
Growth then jumped 4.5% year-on-year during the seven days to 11 October. However, the following week, to 18 October, saw a contraction of 0.8%.
While the drinks segment as a whole posted year-on-year gains for nine out of the past twelve weeks, margins remained modest and volume growth was weak.
Beer and cider continued to perform relatively well. Most notably during the week to 11 October, when beer sales were up 6.1% and cider 8.9%, while soft drinks rose 5.9%. In contrast, spirits sales dropped 1.1% and wine rose just 1.2% in the same period.
The final fortnight of the month saw sales drop off, with trade the week to 25 October down 2.4% year-on-year, followed by a further fall of 0.4% in the week to 1 November. Within that period, sales were negative on 10 of the 14 days, with the biggest drop of 11.7% falling on Sunday 26 October, the day the clocks went back.
Cautious spending
Consumers were also cautious with spending, with prices rising and incomes continuing to be stretched. It comes after separate data from CGA earlier this week showed confidence among business leaders had hit a five-year low.
Category-wise, there was some minor upside for spirits around Halloween. In the week to 1 November, spirits sales rose 2.4% following a 12.6% drop the previous week. Beer was up 0.4% then down 1.3%; cider down 1.1% then 0.7%; wine down 1.9% then 2.1%; and soft drinks down 2.1% then up 1.6%.
CGA by NIQ commercial lead for UK & Ireland, Rachel Weller, noted while the early signs were “encouraging”, sales would likely have been stronger without the disruption caused by Storm Amy.
She added the sector was reliant on getting into the right shape for the run-in to Christmas and on any support the Government may offer in the Budget later this week.
