In-store alcohol sales around St. Patrick's Day will likely be 5 to 15 percent higher than 2019, with beer leading the way, predicts Catalina which has tapped into its Buyer Intelligence Platform to determine how the pandemic has impacted alcoholic beverage purchases at grocery stores across the country.
With panic buying starting in March 2020 as COVID-19 lockdowns began, in-store alcohol sales around St. Patrick's Day surged. One year later, alcohol sales in most categories declined on a percentage basis versus 2020, but they still posted a 20 percent increase overall compared to the last "regular" St. Patrick's Day celebrated in 2019.
The exception is the Pre-mixed Cocktails/Cooler category, which has experienced an ongoing sales boom.
In looking at recent sales trends for the four weeks ending March 4, total alcohol sales are trending about flat versus last year. As such, Catalina predicts St. Patrick's Day week in 2022 will be comparable to last year. For comparison, alcohol sales for Super Bowl week this year were down about 2 percent versus Super Bowl week last year.
However, compared to the same pre-pandemic period in 2019, alcohol sales continue to be higher. "It makes sense that sales of adult beverages were up in 2021 compared to the last pre-pandemic St. Patrick's Day holiday since many public gathering places last year still faced COVID restrictions. Add to that, many people were still uncomfortable gathering indoors, and they weren't keen on drinking or dining outdoors at the tail end of winter—hence many chose to celebrate at home," said Sean Murphy, chief data and analytics officer for Catalina, in a statement.
"With the National Retail Federation's annual St. Patrick’s Day Survey showing that 19 percent of respondents plan to celebrate at a bar or restaurant this year, compared to 10 percent a year ago—25 percent of respondents are still planning to host or attend larger private gatherings, compared to 21 percent last year," said Murphy. "That's why we anticipate in-store liquor sales this year will still be higher than 2019, even with a corresponding uptick at bars and restaurants.”
Related: ‘Sober Curious’ Movement Embraces Mindfulness; SouthNorte to Debut RTD Cocktails.