Alcohol sales rebound (SAM)
Total alcohol sales grew 17.3% for the week ended July 11, rebounding from 11.5% growth in the preceding week. Spirits grew 25.5%, and wine grew 16.6% for the week. Off-premise beer category sales grew 14.9% for the week, as seen in the chart below. Core beer sales increased by 14.3%. Hard seltzers grew 149% with Truly up 156%. Craft beer grew by 10.6%. The super-premium segment grew 19.6%, driven by Michelob Ultra. Mexican import sales grew 8.2%, still impacted by the shutdown’s impact on inventory. Below premium beer sales declined 1.6%, premium lights grew 5%, FMBs ex-seltzer grew 6.7%, and cider grew 2.3%.
Wine sales led by off-premise, still down across channels (STZ)
US wine sales increased 21% in off-premise channels in June with volumes up 14%. DTC shipments of wine grew 31% in June, according to Wines Vines Analytics, with shipment growth of 40%. The average bottle price of shipments fell 11% in the first half of 2020. Total consumer spending on domestic wine was down 5% for the year ended June 30, according to bw166. In June, total wine sales decreased by 16%, as seen in the following chart. On-premise sales in June are estimated to be down 69%, weighing down total growth. Still, that is an improvement from down 90% in previous months as restaurants, bars, and wine tasting rooms began to open in late May.
Consumer survey points to flattening of grocery spend (ACI)
In the last week of our consumer survey, respondents say that their grocery spend has been similar to the prior week. Grocery purchasing behavior has been little changed since our survey on June 7, and spending has remained elevated, as seen in the chart below.
