There has been much debate on whether consumers are in fact drinking more alcohol during the pandemic. Analyst firm BW166 has released some data with their input on the topic, noting that its Total Beverage Alcohol Index was up 1.9% for the month of August. Taking into account the growth rate of the population that is of legal drinking age (+1%), the data suggests that beverage alcohol consumption has indeed increased during the pandemic.
Consumer spending also rose in the off-premise, but not by enough to make up for on-premise losses. Total consumer spending for the six months to August was $121.3 billion, down $23.9 billion from the same period last year.
Source: BW166, September 2020