Seven out of ten households this year are planning a Thanksgiving gathering with less than six people, according to the latest Nielsen data. Those planning to serve alcohol at their gatherings are down slightly in each category with 37% planning to serve wine compared to 39% last year, 24% planning to serve beer compared to 28% last year, and 19% planning to serve spirits compared to 20% last year. Nearly 25% of consumers plan to spend $25 or less on alcohol this year and 25% of consumers will do their holiday shopping online this year compared to 10% last year.
Spirits Lead The Way As Alcohol Dollars Grow 17.6% in September, October
Off-premise alcohol dollars grew by 17.6% in September and October compared to the same time last year, according to the latest Nielsen report. Spirits led category growth, up 26.3%, followed by wine at 18.9% and beer/FMBs/cider at 13.9%.
Throughout most of the pandemic, the spirit categories driving most of the growth have been consistent. Tequila was up 55.5%, Cognac up 56.2%, and RTD cocktails up 131% for September and October. Hard seltzer was also up 103% and continues to drive growth in the beer/FMB/cider category.
Source: Nielsen, November 2020