Category Management | Alcoholic Beverage
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Because the nature of convenience stores leverages an impulse-buy mentality, it’s important for stores to stock wellknown, familiar brands that consumers can trust. — Carmen Bryan, consumer analyst for GlobalData
“Devo, an alcoholic coconut water, is one of my top sellers. That’s kind of the new trend there,” he said. On the liquor side, sales of tequilas and bourbons are surging. Coast to Coast’s merchandising plan includes a large display of Barefoot Wine by the entrance. “We do ‘two for $9.99,’ so the immediate perception is that there is value in the store,” Hawatmeh said. Hawatmeh is hopeful the increased sales the adult beverage category experienced in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19 will continue into 2022. And he has reason to be optimistic. The alcoholic beverage market in the U.S. is expected to grow by $64.01 billion between 2020-2024, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 5%, per Technavio, a global technology research and advisory company. Hawatmeh advised other retailers to consider an expanded adult beverage offering, given the opportunity in the category. CSD
fast facts: • Wine sales were nearly $1.5 billion, up 7.4%, while hard seltzer sales surpassed $1.7 billion, up 44.9% for the 52 weeks ending Sept. 11, 2021, per NielsenIQ. • Over the past 12 months, the popularity of fruity and sweet beers has been growing at cstores, reports Datassential.
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CSTORE DECISIONS •
November 2021
cstoredecisions.com
