Summer Demand Fades, Cooling Total Bev/Al Sales

Another week, another down report on total bev/al sales from NIQ. Reporting on the four weeks ended July 18, NIQ said total alcohol sales fell 3% from a year earlier to $9.1 billion. Case volume totaled 181.9 million, down 4.8% from a year earlier.

On a weekly basis, NIQ said, "dollar sales continued to soften," falling 3.1% to $2.1 billion from the week ended July 11.

"With Independence Day celebrations and the FIFA World Cup now in the rearview mirror, alcohol demand moderated through mid-July, though the second half of summer still offers opportunities through seasonal gatherings and outdoor entertaining," NIQ said.

Prepared Cocktails Lead, but Not Enough to Help Spirits

Prepared Cocktails remained the strongest-performing alcohol segment, with dollar sales increasing 0.2% despite case volume declining 4.8%. The category continues to separate itself from the broader industry by maintaining positive dollar growth in a challenging demand environment.

Wine posted the weakest results among major categories, with dollar sales down 3.9% and volume falling 5.6%. Persistent consumption pressures continue to weigh on performance, leaving the category well behind its peers.

Beer saw dollar sales decline -3.4% while volume fell -4.8%. Although trends remain negative, the category continues to exhibit a relatively steady performance profile compared to broader industry volatility.

Spirits lost some momentum gained in recent weeks, with dollar sales declining -3.4% and volume down -4.1%. Without additional demand drivers such as the 4th of July and FIFA World Cup engagements, the journey toward stability in Spirits has slowed.

All in all, category performance remains highly fragmented. Prepared Cocktails continue to stand out as the industry's primary growth engine, Wine remains under the greatest pressure, Beer is holding relatively steady, and Spirits has relinquished some of the progress that had recently narrowed its performance gap.

Michigan outperforms key markets, but regional performance remains uneven, NIQ said.

Alcohol performance remained soft across major markets in the latest period, with all key states posting declines in both dollar sales and volume.

Michigan emerged as the strongest-performing market, with dollar sales down just 0.7% and volume declining 3.6%. In contrast, New York recorded the steepest dollar declines, with sales falling 6.1% and volume down 7.2%.

Volume trends diverged somewhat from dollar performance. Florida posted the smallest volume decline, down 2.6%, while dollar sales fell 1.9%, reflecting relative resilience compared to other major markets. Massachusetts experienced the largest volume losses, with volume down 7.8% and dollar sales declining 5.9%.

Overall, alcohol demand remains pressured across regions, though performance continues to vary significantly by market. Michigan and Florida demonstrated greater resilience than most major states, while ongoing weakness in markets such as New York and Massachusetts weighed on broader industry results.

The Club channel weakens as broad-based retail softness persists. Retail channel performance remained challenged, with every major channel posting dollar declines.

Club recorded the steepest drop at -4.1%, followed by Convenience and Liquor, both down -3.5%. Food -2.4%, and Mass -1.5% fared somewhat better, while All Other remained the sole growth channel at +3.0%. • Volume trends largely mirrored dollar performance, though ranking differences emerged across channels. Convenience led losses at -6.4%, followed by Liquor -5.6%, Food -3.8%, Mass -3.2%, Club -2.6%, while All Others (+5.0%) saw growth.

In Spirits, it was largely the same old story with Tequila showing resistance, Vodka showed the weakest results, with dollar sales down 4.87% and case sales decling 4.9%.Tequila remained relatively resilient with dollar sales down 2.5% and volume slipping 0.2%. Whiskey also experienced renewed pressure, with dollar sales falling -2.8% and volume down -4.7%, giving back some of the progress seen in recent periods.

Meanwhile, Non-Alcoholic Spirits continued to significantly outperform the broader category, with dollar sales increasing 23.2% and volume rising 24.0%. All other Spirits segments remained a drag on performance, with dollar sales down 4.1% and volume declining -.9%.

Wine in a Holding Pattern, Non/Alc Wine Outperforms. During the four weeks ending July 18, Still Wine remained the primary source of category weakness, with dollar sales down 4.5% and volume declining 6.1%.

In contrast, Sparkling Wine continued to outperform the broader category, with dollar sales down just 0.1% and volume declining 0.8%.

Meanwhile, Non-Alcoholic Wine remained the category's strongest performer, with dollar sales increasing 16.5% and volume rising 12.6%, extending its strong growth trajectory.

Beer faces renewed pressure. In the four weeks ending July 18th, Beer lagged year-ago levels, with dollar sales declining 3.4% and case volume falling 4.8%. Reduced consumer demand remained the primary driver of category weakness, NIQ said, accounting for 79% of total declines, while lower store availability contributed an additional 19%.

If you need to be reminded of the "K-economy" the U.S. is experiencing, where lower, working and many middle-class consumers are squeezed, these beer results should do it. . . . Our opinion, not NIQ's.

More evidence of the impact of the K-shaped economy: Non-Alcoholic Beer and premium segments continue to offset broader weakness. Core Beer segments continued to weigh on category performance, led by (-7.5% in value, -8.5% in volume) and Craft (-6.2% in value, -7.7% in volume), with Import Beer appearing more resilient (-2.2% in value, -3.2% in volume).

In contrast, Domestic Super Premium maintained growth momentum, with dollar sales up 2.2% in dollar sales and 2% in volume. Cider also contributed to growth, with dollar sales rising 1.6% and volume up 0.2%. Non-Alc Beer (+11.2% in value, +10.5% in volume), reinforced its role as one of Beer’s most consistent growth engines