You’re Saying Yes to Hard Liquor, and No to Beer During the Pandemic

Raise your hand if you've bought more alcohol during the pandemic. 

Don't be shy - I'm raising my hand too. In fact, when word got out that things would be shutting down, I ran right to Trader Joe's and plopped a few bottles of red wine in my cart. This sounds about right with this trend that just came out. Ibotta told us in an email that hard alcohol and wine sales have increased during Covid, but beer sales have gone down.

Here's the exact breakdown Ibotta gave us:

Beer: - Down 2% overall, with the following data for each subcategory

• Flavored Malt Beverage: +37.4%
• Non-Alcoholic Beer: +15.9%
• Craft Import Beer: -17%

Spirits and Hard Liquor: Up 33% overall, with the following data for each subcategory

• Liqueur: +75%
• Brandy: +43%
• Tequila: +40%
• Whiskey: +39%
• Vodka: +26%
• Gin: +14%
• Rum: +14%

Wine: Overall a 12% increase for all types combined, with the following subcategories

• Flavored: +73%
• Fortified: +51%
• Red: +12%
• Rice Wine: +37%
• Rose: +24%
• Sparkling: +5%
• White: +9%

While we don't know the exact reason why beer sales are down, I have a guess. Since beer has a lot of carbs, maybe people feel more weighed down and don't want to drink it if they're sitting around at home. Also, maybe some people are noticing extra weight and decided to cut back on the beer because of its carb count (I'm guilty of this).

Did you notice the trend of non-alcoholic beer sales increasing? Could it be because of more pregnancies happening (definitely not confirmed, just speculation).

Look at that increase in hard liquor sales! Could it be because some of you have picked up a mixology interest during the pandemic? I've seen plenty of people working on their bartending skills on Instagram - yum!

And least surprising - Ibotta says wine sales have increased as well. Wine is definitely an old reliable friend, and it makes dinner feel a lot more fancy and complete.

What have you been drinking during the pandemic? Tell us in the comments.

H/T: Shelby Aranbasich - Ibotta