Sales Lag Year Ago, Holiday Demand Sparks Weekly Improvement: NIQ

During the four weeks ending May 23, Total Alcohol lagged year-ago levels. Dollar sales reached $8.5 billion but fell -4.7% vs a year earlier, while case volume totaled 164.5 million, down -6.5%, NIQ reports.

On a weekly basis, dollar sales grew slightly compared to the prior period (the week ended May 16), reaching $2.2 billion and reflecting a strong +4.7% WoW gain. While overall performance remains below YA, strengthening seasonal demand and Memorial Day weekend celebrations help drive improved week-over-week momentum.

Prepared Cocktails show modest improvement amid continued category pressure

• Prepared Cocktails showed slight improvement, with dollar sales holding flat at +0.0%, while case volume remained down -5.3%. This slowdown compared to prior growth reflects category maturity and saturation, partially offset this period by seasonal and holiday demand.

• Spirits continued to lead declines, with losses increasing versus the prior period, as dollar sales fell -5.7% and volume declined -5.2%.

• Beer delivered a similar level of underperformance, with trends softening further, as dollar sales declined 5.5% and volume fell -6.9%.

• Wine continues to see the smallest declines compared to Spirits and Beer, with dollar sales down-4.4% and volume declining -5.8%.

Overall, Total Alcohol trends continue to reflect broad-based pressure across categories despite spring seasonal demand. Prepared Cocktails are showing signs of improvement but remain below prior momentum, while Spirits continue to decline, Beer trends have softened further, and Wine remains relatively steady though still negative.

Broad-based state declines continue as larger markets drive weakness

• Regional trends remained in line with broader Total U.S. softness, with no major states delivering growth. Ohio continued to see the slowest declines, with dollar sales down -2.8%, followed closely by Michigan at -2.9%. California emerged as the top decliner this period, with sales falling -6.8%, while Massachusetts also remained pressured, down -6.3%. • Volume trends showed some variation relative to dollar performance across the top states. New Jersey posted the most stable declines at -3.8%, while Massachusetts (-7.8) and California (-7.7%) experienced the steepest volume losses.

Overall, Total Alcohol performance remains under pressure across key states, though regional differences persist. Midwest markets such as Ohio and Michigan continue to demonstrate relative stability, while larger markets, including California and parts of the Northeast, are contributing more heavily to overall category declines.

Liquor and Convenience lead declines, while Food shows modest improvement.

Retail channel trends remained soft across outlets, with performance varying by channel. Liquor led declines, down -5.4%. This was followed by Convenience -5.3%, Club -3.7%, Food -3.5%, Mass and All Other channels both dropped -3.0%. Volume trends were generally in line with dollars, though with some variation in ranking.

Beer continues to lag despite seasonal demand boost

In the four weeks ending May 23, Beer continued to lag year-ago levels, with dollar sales down -5.5% and case volume declining -6.9%, NIQ reported. Weekly trends increased to $953.8M from $915.0M (+4.2% WoW), reflecting a lift tied to Memorial Day and seasonal demand.

Despite this improvement, NIQ said Beer performance remains consistently pressured throughout May. Cider and Non-Alc growth help offset ongoing core segment weakness

Pressure persisted across core Beer segments. Domestic Premium led declines (-8.8% in value, -9.9% in volume), followed by Craft (-7.3% in value, -9.3% in volume). Import Beer also remained soft (-5.1% in value, -6.1% in volume), while Domestic Super Premium saw comparatively smaller declines (-1.9% in value, -1.8% in volume). Cider experienced growth (+1.2% in value, -0.7% in volume) and Non-Alc Beer (+6.8% in value, +5.0% in volume) continued to offer positive contributions. Domestic Super Premium helped moderate recent Beer results with softening declines (-2.3% in the prior period).