Olympic celebrations boost UK alcohol sales

Alcohol sales in British supermarkets soared 8.5% over the summer months as drinkers celebrated the nation’s success in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, figures released by Kantar Worldpanel show.

For the 12 weeks ending 11 September 2016, supermarket sales were boosted by the performance of their alcohol segments, increasing 0.3% despite continued deflation of 1.1%.

Kantar Worldpanel data shows that while the UK’s largest supermarket, Tesco, has not returned to growth, the retailer’s sales decline slowed to -0.2% in the time period – its best performance since March 2014.

Waitrose sales increased by 3.4% on last year, helping the retailer reach a new record market share of 5.3%, boosted by its ‘Half Price Event’ across much of the store, including alcohol.

Co-op’s sales were similarly bolstered by strong alcohol sales, while Aldi and Lidl increased sales by 11.6% and 9.5% respectively. However, total sales for Sainsbury’s declined as the retailer continued to roll-out a simpler pricing strategy.

“While overall sales growth has been slow, consumers have been keen to celebrate Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic golden summer, boosting alcohol sales by 8.5% in the past four weeks,” said Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel.

“Sparkling wines including Prosecco and Champagne led the way with growth of 36% as promotional events across a number of retailers successfully tapped into the nation’s celebratory mood.”