Cocktails To Go See Rising Consumer Interest: Nielsen

With the on-premise hurting due to closures from the Covid-19 pandemic, Nielsen estimates that off-premise beverage alcohol volume must rise by 22% to offset the on-premise decline. Thus far, wine and spirits have been surpassing that threshold, but due to on-premise markups, recovering that dollar value with off-premise growth is still proving difficult. Nielsen says on-premise declines have stabilized somewhat in recent weeks, with average sales per venue remaining at 68% below a year-ago in the week ended April 25, and hovering at declines of 67%-75% in the rest of April.

As restaurants begin tentatively reopening across the country, a growing number of consumers say they’re ordering alcohol with takeout and delivery. About 14% of U.S. consumers did so in the week ended April 25, according to Nielsen’s survey, up from 9% in the previous two weeks. Among consumers who’ve ordered alcohol with takeout or delivery or would consider doing so, about half would order a cocktail kit or premade cocktail.

While consumers are increasingly likely to order cocktails to go, many are also trading up within the cocktail space. Nielsen found that across all alcoholic beverages, consumers were the least price-conscious when ordering cocktails with takeout food orders. Additionally, 28% say they’d choose a more premium cocktail, while 58% would opt for a cocktail favorite.—Daniel Marsteller

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