Supermarkets are offering shoppers a very merry Christmas this year - with many major drinks brands cheaper than they were a year ago.
Average prices-per-litre of some top-selling alcohol lines in the big four supermarkets are down more than 5% this week compared with the same week in 2013 [Brandview.com w/e 10 December 2014 vs 2013] The news comes three weeks after The Grocer revealed that Christmas booze promotions had kicked off earlier this year than in 2013.
Some of the deepest cuts are in the lager fixture where, on average, multipacks of the top-five brands are 4.9% cheaper this week than last December, with Stella Artois and Budweiser down 4.5%, and Carlsberg down 5.1%. Price drops have been driven by the largest formats, with packs containing more than 15 cans or bottles down as much as 11%.
But despite such tempting deals, beer and lager sales are lower this Christmas than they were a year ago - down 4.2% by value year on year in the two weeks ending 6 December (see p34).
Deep cuts have also been seen on the cider fixture, with the average price of the five biggest cider brands down by 4.6% a litre. Across the total cider and lager category, average prices are 2.8% cheaper year on year, dropping from £2.85 to £2.77 a litre.
Activity is less intense on the ale and stout fixture, with the average price 1.4% lower. And, although Guinness multipacks are down 4.7% on average, the price of other major brands, including John Smith’s Extra Smooth and Old Speckled Hen, has dropped only fractionally.
As with beer, larger-format packs have been the focus of much of the activity in the spirits aisle. Across the five best-selling spirits brands, the price of 70cl bottles has actually risen by 2.5% year on year to £20.95 a litre - discounting has instead been focused on one-litre bottles, which have fallen by 2.7% to £16.95 a litre. This means shoppers will be paying, on average, about 20% more by volume if they opt for the smaller bottle.
And, unlike the activity on the beer fixture, this appears to be working - with overall liqueur and spirits sales up by 4.3% year on year by value over the past two weeks, according to IRI.
Wine prices are down 2.1% across the big four, though - unlike other categories - activity has not focused on the biggest brands. The average price of the top-five brands has fallen by 1% year on year, driven by a decline in red and rosé as the price of white wine is the same as in 2013. Across the wine category, own-label prices have fallen further than brands, with own-label red down 3.9%, for example, compared with a 2.5% drop in branded red.
Fizz, meanwhile, is bucking the downward trend. Champagne has risen by 2.1% a litre, while sparkling white is up 1.9% overall.
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