CGA by NIQ’s Daily Drinks Tracker has shown that a late Christmas surge in average sales in managed venues was followed by a 9% slump in the first full 
week of January. However, footfall and spend recovered in the seven days to Saturday 18 January, with sales finishing 2% ahead of the equivalent week in 2024.
The solid performance was partly driven by decent weather and some high-profile football fixtures on Tuesday 14 and Wednesday 15 January, which triggered sales uplifts of 9% and 10% respectively. It was a particularly good week for Long Alcoholic Drinks (LAD), with beer and cider sales both rising above inflation at 4%. The soft drinks category also rose 4%, as some consumers switched away from alcoholic options for Dry January.
However, drinks sales came back down with a bump in the following week, with a year-on-year drop of 5% in the seven days to Saturday 25 January. Daily trade slumped 14% on Friday 24 January as Storm Éowyn raced in and many consumers were advised to stay at home. Although the next day was less affected by the windy weather, sales were down by 6% year-on-year. Most major drinks categories were equally affected by the storm, with sales of beer, cider, soft drinks and wine all down by between 2% and 4% across the week.
It has been a very challenging start to 2025 for the spirits category, where sales dropped by 11% and 19% in the weeks to 18 and 25 January respectively. This extends a long run of negative numbers for spirits, which have been affected by the trends of moderation, earlier drinking-out and pressure on spending that has led some drinkers to switch to other categories. However, CGA by NIQ’s research has shown plenty of opportunities to revive interest in spirits in 2025—especially during earlier dayparts.
Rachel Weller, CGA by NIQ’s commercial lead, UK & Ireland, said: “After a slow start to the year, On Premise drinks sales were starting to build some momentum before being blown away by Storm Éowyn. Better weather and the end of Dry January will hopefully start to release some pent-up demand for drinking-out, but any real-terms growth will be hard-earned for the foreseeable future.”
The Daily Drinks Tracker provides analysis of sales at managed licensed premises across Britain and is part of CGA by NIQ’s suite of research services delivering in-depth data on category, supplier and brand rate of sale performance. To learn more, click here and contact the CGA by NIQ team.
Update on the Daily Drinks Tracker
The Daily Drinks Tracker delivers weekly data into drink sales performance. Starting this month, detailed analysis and commentary will now be shared on a bi-weekly basis. The tracker remains dedicated to supporting data-driven decisions in the On Premise.
