Off-premise sales of alcohol continued to climb in the week ending April 4, up 4% from the prior week and 25% from a year ago, according to data from Nielsen. Spirits sales were up 33% and wine was up 32% for the week.
Online alcohol sales also continued their meteoric rise with a 441% increase in sales compared to the same week last year. Wine sales data also showed that sales increased over 30% in March 2020, enough to offset on-premise declines.
“No one has ever seen the kind of channel shifting we’re seeing now. It’s totally unprecedented,” said Danny Brager, Nielsen’s senior vice-president, beverage alcohol practices.
Source: Wine Business, April 2020