U.S. alcohol sales fall again as wine and spirits weaken

The U.S. alcohol market remained under pressure in the four weeks ended May 9, with NielsenIQ reporting that total dollar sales fell 6.0% from a year earlier to $8.1 billion and case volume declined 7.0% to 159.1 million cases. The latest weekly reading showed a modest rebound from the prior week, with dollar sales rising 2.8% to $2.1 billion, but NIQ said the lift appeared temporary and was tied to warmer weather and Cinco de Mayo rather than a change in the broader trend.

Prepared cocktails, which had been one of the industry’s growth engines, slipped further into decline. Dollar sales fell 1.4% in the latest four-week period and case volume dropped 6.2%, even as weekly sales rose 3.9% to $278.7 million from $266.2 million in the prior week. NIQ said spirits-based ready-to-drink products continued to post gains, but those were offset by weakness in flavored malt beverages and seltzers, which fell 10.3% in dollars and 12.2% in volume.

Wine remained the weakest major segment in the report. Dollar sales fell 8.5% and volume declined 8.9% over the four weeks ended May 9, with weekly sales rising 5.4% to $380.3 million from $360.7 million in the previous week. NIQ said sparkling wine accounted for most of the category’s losses, with dollar sales down 12.8% and volume down 15.3%, while still wine also declined and nonalcoholic wine continued to grow.

Spirits also stayed negative, though the category improved slightly on a weekly basis. Dollar sales fell 6.5% and case volume dropped 5.8% over the four-week period, while weekly sales increased 1.7% to $534.3 million from $525.2 million a week earlier. Whiskey remained the largest drag within spirits, with dollar sales down 6.4%, followed by tequila at 6.1% and vodka at 6.0%. Nonalcoholic spirits stood out as a bright spot, rising 26.6% in dollars and 43.0% in volume.

Beer fared somewhat better than wine and spirits but still weakened versus a year earlier. Dollar sales fell 5.9% and volume declined 7.0%, while weekly sales rose 2.0% to $891.6 million from $873.7 million in the prior week. NIQ said declines widened across core beer segments, including domestic premium, craft and import beer, while cider moved into negative territory after posting growth in the previous period.

Across states, NIQ said no major market posted growth in the latest four weeks ending May 9. Ohio showed the mildest decline at 2.3% in dollar sales, followed by Michigan at 4.0%. Massachusetts posted the steepest drop among major states at 10.8%. Volume trends were similar, with Ohio down 4.2%, New Jersey down 4.6% and Massachusetts down 10.2%.

Retail channel performance also softened across most formats compared with the prior period. Liquor stores and food channels each posted dollar sales declines of 6.4%, followed by mass merchants at 6.0%, convenience stores at 5.3%, club stores at 4.5% and all other channels at 5.0%. In volume terms, convenience stores led declines at 7.6%, followed by mass at 7.3%, food at 7.2% and liquor at 6.5%, while club stores and all other channels saw smaller drops.

Within spirits, Diageo remained the largest manufacturer by dollar sales but posted a decline of 12.0%. Sazerac was one of the few large suppliers to grow, up 2.8% in dollars, followed by Fifth Generation at 1.1%. Among brands, Tito’s Vodka remained No. 1 by dollar sales but slipped 1.2%, while Crown Royal fell 11.4%, Don Julio dropped 15.9%, Jack Daniel’s declined 6.3% and Fireball fell 7.1%. The fastest-growing brands included Lunazul Tequila, W.L.Weller, Colonel EH Taylor, Lalo Tequila and Svedka.

In wine, Gallo remained the largest manufacturer by dollar sales but fell 7.8%, while The Wine Group declined 13.2%. Among brands, Josh led dollar sales despite a decline of 2.9%, followed by Barefoot, Sutter Home, Bota and LaMarca, all of which posted losses.

Beer’s largest manufacturers also remained under pressure, with Anheuser-Busch down 4.1%, Constellation down 5.3%, Molson Coors down 8.4% and Heineken USA down 13.8%. New Belgium Brewing was one of the few large beer makers to grow, up 4.% in dollars.

Prepared cocktails showed some of the sharpest brand-level divergence in the report: White Claw fell 3.% in dollars, Twisted Tea dropped13.% , BuzzBallz rose10.% , Smirnoff declined3.% , and Cutwater Cocktail surged123.% . NIQ said that despite those gains in select brands and subsegments, overall category momentum remained weak as consumers shifted away from malt-based offerings and broader alcohol demand stayed below year-ago levels across most channels and regions.