Wholesalers struggle as US spirits sales fall
Wine and spirits sales from wholesalers to retailers in the US continued to decline in the 12 months leading to August 2024.
Data from the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA), which looked at sales from wholesalers to more than 450,000 retailers nationwide, showed a combined decline of 6.0% for wine and spirits in the 12-month period.
Spirits sales alone fell by 3.9%. Wine’s decline was more than double that of spirits, as the category dropped by 8.0%.
The WSWA said it indicated potential challenges for the rest of 2024 and 2025.
Dale Stratton, analyst at SipSource, the WSWA’s study, said: “One fewer shipping day in August contributed to the decline, but it doesn’t fully explain the larger systemic issues we’re seeing in both on- and off-premise channels.
“This report highlights how premiumisation, once a major growth driver, is facing pressure in a tightening market. The US$100-plus price tier in spirits within bars and restaurants performed the worst, declining 12.5%, while mid-range tiers, such as US$50-US$99.99, saw a more moderate decline of 3.9% in on-premise depletions.
“For off-premise, where over 80% of consumer market volume lies, the US$100-plus tier fell by 8.5%, while the US$50-US$99.99 tier dropped 4.3%.”
The upcoming holiday seasons, including Thanksgiving and Christmas, are expected to present challenges for most wine and spirits categories, SipSource analysts noted.
This will be underscored by declines in points of distribution across most product classes in both on- and off-premise channels, indicating reduced wine and spirits assortments in off-trade and on-trade establishments.
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