Summer fails to lift Alcohol as category headwinds carry into mid-August

During the four weeks ended Aug. 15, Total Alcohol sat behind a year ago. Dollar sales reached $8.5 billion, down 3.4% from a year earlier, while case volume totaled 167.1 million, declining 5.3%.

On a weekly basis, dollar sales held flat once again, reaching $2.1 billion, down 0.9% from the week ending Aug. 8th. With the summer selling window quickly closing, Alcohol has only a few key seasonal weeks left to reverse course against the persistent pressures shaping category performance this year.

Prepared Cocktails Losing More Fizz

Prepared cocktails, which had been the one bright spot most of the summer, remained unable to deliver growth, with dollar sales easing 0.9% while case volume fell 5.2%. While the segment remains aligned with current consumer preferences, continued declines suggest that growing saturation is making growth more difficult to capture.

Beer continued to be the top decliner, as dollar sales dropped 4.4% and volume slipped 5.5%. The category’s performance was largely unchanged from the prior period, indicating that the anticipated summer lift did not drive meaningful growth for Beer category

Wine showed clearer progress, as dollar and volume declines moderated to -3.4% and -4.6%, respectively. Wine’s softness throughout summer has been largely steady, with minimal seasonal lift shown.

During the four weeks ending Aug. 15, Still Wine remained the primary weight on category performance, with dollar sales declining 4% and volume down 5.1%. Sparkling Wine offered a brighter spot, returning to growth as dollar sales increased 0.6% and volume rose 0.3%. Its lighter, refreshing profile and connection to celebrations and social occasions likely helped support demand during the summer months. Non-Alcoholic Wine continued to outpace the category, with dollar sales up +17.6% and volume growing +14.2%. Although still a small contributor, NonAlcoholic Wine remains the category’s fastest-growing segment

Spirits experienced the softest declines, with dollar sales down 3.2% and volume declines of 3.5%. Category results continue to underperform, with consistent declines vs a year earlier over the last 28 consecutive weeks.

Across the top Spirits categories, (Vodka, Whiskey, and Tequila), performance diverged. Whiskey fell furthest behind, with dollar sales down 5.1% and volume falling 5.9%. Vodka posted slightly softer losses, as dollar sales declined 3.2% and volume slipped 3.6%. Tequila remained the bright spot among the core categories, with dollar sales nearing flat at 0.3% while volume grew 2.5%. Non-Alcoholic Spirits continued to lead, with dollar sales up 22.5% and volume rising 25.0%. Meanwhile, all other Spirits collectively declined, with dollar sales down 2.9% and volume declining 3.9%

Taken together, this week’s results remain largely subdued. While losses moderated for Wine and Spirits, both categories remain firmly in decline. Beer continues to weigh heavily on the industry, and Prepared Cocktails remain unable to provide the growth needed to offset persistent weakness across Alcohol.

Top U.S. markets show signs of value-seeking growth rather than true revenue expansion. Performance remained broadly challenged across the largest U.S. alcohol markets, with nearly every top-10 state posting declines in both dollar sales and volume.

California delivered the strongest relative dollar performance, limiting sales declines to 2.5% despite volume falling 3.5%, highlighting greater resilience than other major markets.

Massachusetts stood out as the market's biggest divergence story. While volume increased 3%, the strongest gain among key states, dollar sales declined 7%, signaling that growth is being driven by lower-priced purchases, increased promotional activity, or unfavorable mix shifts rather than true revenue expansion.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, Washington recorded the steepest volume decline at 9.7%, accompanied by a 4.9% drop in dollar sales. The market's weakness across both measures underscores the depth of consumer pullback occurring in some regions. Taken together, the results point to a broader industry challenge: generating profitable growth. While pockets of volume growth persist, they are increasingly disconnected from revenue performance, as consumers continue to seek value and trade spending across the alcohol category.

Mass regains some ground as Club weighs on channel performance • Retail channels remained under pressure, with dollar sales declining across every major channel except All Other. Club posted the steepest drop at 5.3%, this was followed by Food at -4%. Convenience -3.8%, Liquor -3.0%, and Mass -2.5%. All Other continued to see the best results, up +1.7%.

Volume trends largely mirrored dollar performance. Convenience recorded the sharpest decline at -6.7%, followed by Food -5.7%, Liquor -4.1%, Mass -3.6% and Club -3.4%, while All Other once again saw growth (+3.4%).

Compared with the prior L4W period (w/e August 8th), Mass experienced the largest shift in overall performance, after its previous dollar (-2.7) and volume (-4.0%) trends