Irish shoppers spent €34.6 million on alcohol in the week leading up to Easter – a 5.3% increase compared to 2018, Nielsen data has revealed.
According to the report, alcohol sales saw a significant uplift from the same period last year, where sales increased 3.9%.
Alcohol Ban Lifted
This year marks he second year that the alcohol category has benefited from changes to the Intoxicating Liquor Act.
The law had previously been in place in Ireland for over 90 years and prohibited the sale of alcohol in pubs, supermarkets and convenience stores on Good Friday.
With the ban on Good Friday sales lifted, Nielsen reported a surge in sales, with cider sales increasing 33.4% and spirit mixers seeing an increase of 64.8%.
Sun's Out, Shoppers Out
However, the rise in alcohol sales could also be attributed to the increase in warm weather, with Easter 2019 peaking at 22.9 degrees, making it the hottest weekend of the year so far.
This also bled shoppers to spend more on food associated with warm weather such as take-home ice-cream, where sales increased by 20.7% to €3.7 million compared to the same period in 2018, according to the report.
This was in contrast to a drop in sales for Easter eggs – the data showed sales decreased by 12.8% to €22.4 million in the two weeks leading to Easter 2019 compared to the same period in 2018.
“A year into the lift on alcohol prohibition on Good Friday, coupled with the first taste of warm weather, shoppers in Ireland were looking at every opportunity to enjoy the sun with friends and family, spending more freely on alcohol than in the previous year," said Karen Mooney, Ireland market leader at Nielsen.
"With this in mind, retailers should keep an eye on the weather forecast and ensure that when the sun shines, shelves are well-stocked; particularly with beers, ciders, sparkling wines and pre-mixed drinks.” she said.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Helen Galgey. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
