CGA’s On Premise Measurement (OPM) service shows spirits sales by volume in the last four weeks of last year were 26% higher than the previous four-week period. This is nearly triple the upswing of 9% for beer volumes and highlights the importance of the festive season for Australia’s On Premise. Spirits with significant upswings include rum (27%), thanks to its popularity both with mixers and in cocktails.
CGA’s On Premise User Survey (OPUS) meanwhile uncovers consumers’ Christmas habits while out. It indicates that four in five (83%) of Australians will visit pubs, bars restaurants and other licensed premises in the last week before Christmas—significantly more than the 69% who will do so between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day. Other insights to help businesses predict and capitalise on demand include:
- More than a quarter (29%) of consumers buy ‘festive drinks’, providing suppliers and venues with an opportunity to incorporate spirits into Christmas-themed menus
- The same number (29%) say they buy drinks for other people over Christmas—opening up potential to increase spending via rounds and multi-buy deals
- Over a quarter (28%) stay out for longer than usual over the festive season.
Tom Graham, CGA by NIQ’s senior manager, customer success – ANZ, said: “The next few weeks are crucial for Australia’s On Premise, and for many businesses Christmas trading can make all the difference between positive and negative growth for the year. After tough trading conditions in recent months it’s a crunch period for spirits in particular, and with consumers’ confidence rising we can be cautiously confident about seeing a release of some pent-up demand for drinking out.
To take full advantage, it’s essential to know exactly where and when to expect uplifts. Our insights provide the starting point for precision-targeting of the right channels, occasions and categories.”
CGA by NIQ’s On Premise Measurement and On Premise User Survey solutions provide many more insights into sales and engagement in Australia’s pubs, bars and restaurants, with expert interpretation of trends at category, segment and brand level. For more details, click here and contact Tom Graham here.
