The numbers are starting to come in, and no surprise, off-premise sales captured by scan data are showing a pop in beer sales due to the dramatic increase in sales at grocery stores across the country due to the COVID-19 crisis.
According to an article in Seeking Alpha, Nielsen scan data shows beer sales jumped by 16.2% year-over-year for a four-week period that ended on March 21.
Anheuser-Busch InBev clocked in with a 10.9% increase, Molson Coors +10.1% and Boston Beer was up 52.2%.
Scan data only tracks on-premise sales and the on-premise, including entertainment arenas, concert halls and all restaurants, bars and taverns are not accounted for. The expected decline in the on-premise as a whole is about 90%. Most industry analysts agree that the devastation in the on-premise will not make up for the uptick in the off-premise and the beer category overall is likely down by 15-25%.