With the release of its July data, the SipSource platform has been enhanced, adding new metrics that have been incorporated into this month’s highlight report. The new data and metrics suggest that July saw a slight stabilization in trends, aided by two additional shipping days.
Spirits experienced year-over-year growth with a 3.4% increase in volume and 3.8% in revenue, according to SipSource. In contrast, wine declined by -0.9% in volume and -0.2% in revenue. Despite these improvements, both spirits and wine continued to decline on a 12-month rolling basis.
Spirits volume decreased by -2.9%, a slight improvement from June’s -3.3%. Wine declined by -7.7%, showing a 40 basis point improvement from the previous month, SipSource states. Both categories benefited from stable macroeconomic conditions, with inflation holding steady and indications that the Fed may lower interest rates soon.
July Spirit Trends
Product class trends in spirits remained largely unchanged, with cocktails moderating to 6.7% growth, up 0.2% from the previous 12-month period. Tequila also posted a modest 0.2% gain, growing 2.6%, making it one of the few product classes in the black, according to SipSource. Tequila continues to dominate in revenue share, gaining 1.2% in 12-month rolling revenue.
Within Tequila, the top-performing segments were Reposado (+16.9%), Anejo (+8.1%) and Other Tequilas (+0.1%). While premiumization remains a lagging trend, performance varies significantly by product class, SipSource states. Points of distribution declined across most categories, with Cocktails (+3.5%) and Canadian Whisky (+3.2%) being the exceptions.
July Wine’s Performance
Wine saw some improvement in July due to extra shipping days, but the only product class with positive 12-month trends was Cocktails (+0.7%), according to SipSource. On a revenue basis, Cocktails improved by 7.3%, albeit from a small base. The best-performing segment in the wine category was Prosecco, which grew by 1.7%. However, points of distribution for wine were down by 6.6%, with pink wines leading the decline.
Looking ahead, the outlook for the rest of 2024 remains cautious. Shipping days will remain consistent for the rest of the year (107), so they won’t provide the same boost seen in July, SipSource states. Inventory management will continue to be a challenge, and the ongoing battle for shelf space is something to keep an eye on.
