Recession Means People Drinking Cheaper Booze
An AP story last week spelled out the ways the recession is affecting drinking habits throughout the U.S.
Link: http://tinyurl.com/y8ml8fu
Liquor Volume 2008-2009
We’ve posted on this before (check the “recession” tag) and the AP story follows the same tune as before, with a few more nuggets of information:
1. Industry growth as a whole slowed in 2009, with the smallest increase since 2001.
2. Cheap stuff is selling the best during the recession: low-end liquors saw volume increase by 5.5%.
3. Pricey stuff is selling the worst: high-end liquors saw volume decrease by 5.1%.
4. People are doing more drinking at home and less out on the town: sales at liquor stores rose 2.1% while sales at restaurants fell 3%.
5. Vodka is still far and away the most popular spirit in the country: “The $4.56 billion spent on vodka accounted for almost a third of all spirits sold.”
It’s not just inexpensive stuff that’s selling. Consumer are looking for value so mid-priced spirits are doing well in addition.