- Value sales in February flat on corresponding month in 2023
- Spirits volumes decrease by 1.3%
February was another month with eight additional selling days for the US’s Control States, thanks in part to 2024 being a leap year (countered in Michigan, New Hampshire and Utah, all of which had zero change, and Pennsylvania, which had six fewer days year-on-year). That said, spirits sales by value dipped last month by 0.1% with volumes down 1.3%.
The by-category pattern remains all-too familiar: RTDs and Tequila continue to lead the line with high single-digit value growth rates, while American whiskey saw sales at the higher-price end offset a 1.4% volumes fall. All the other spirits categories registered declines in February, according to NABCA.
The outlier – and not in a good way – when considering last month’s performance compared to January’s – was rum. The segment registered a slide of 6.7%, markedly down on January’s -3.6% showing. Scotch whisky, meanwhile, is starting to rival cognac as spirits’ tardiest category in the US – a moniker that nobody wants.
A final word from NABCA on tequila, where the growth is coming quite clearly from “the lower-priced premium segment” compared to higher-priced expressions. Keep an eye out for denials of downtrading from brand owners in the months to come, though. After all, if the hat fits… .
The data from NABCA measures spirits sales across 17 US states [and Montgomery County in Maryland] where distribution is state-controlled. This represents around 25% of total sales in the country and covers both the on- and off-premise channels.
The Control States are:
- Alabama
- Idaho
- Iowa
- Maine
- Michigan
- Mississippi
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- West Virginia
- Wyoming
There are also control municipalities in Alaska, Minnesota and South Dakota.
