UK beer and cider sales increase in early October

Beer and cider sales in the UK on-trade sector saw growth during the first half of October. According to the Daily Drinks Tracker, beer sales rose by 1.5% in the two weeks ending October 10 and by 5.6% in the two weeks ending October 17. Cider followed a similar upward trend, increasing by 1.6% and 7.6% during those respective periods.

The growth in the second week of October was attributed to warmer weather and the return of Premier League football to pubs and bars. This performance follows a period of broadly flat drinks sales. While long alcoholic drinks performed well, spirits saw a significant decline, dropping by 16.3% and 13.2% in the first two weeks of the month.

Industry experts noted that while the performance is reasonable given tight consumer spending in a high-cost environment, operators are looking toward Halloween to boost sales. There is also anticipation regarding the forthcoming government Budget to potentially stimulate consumer spending and provide cost relief for businesses.