The closing of bars, cafes and restaurants to curb the coronavirus epidemic has dealt a severe blow to alcohol consumption in France, as has the cancellation of many festivals. A halt that sales in supermarkets have not compensated for, according to a study by the Nielsen firm.
If the containment has led to "purchases never seen in large retailers", consumers constituting stocks of pasta and flour, it has not led to a similar phenomenon on the liquor department, despite the ban on opening outlets drinks, according to this study by Nielsen.
Usually, March "is an average month for sales of alcohol outside the home, except for beers and whiskeys on St. Patrick's Day (March 17)," said Mathieu André-Febrero, one of Nielsen's experts.
Alcohols: -3.4% of turnover
With the national closure implemented as of March 15, the month was "cut in half, but the volumes lost (17 million liters of beer and 1.3 million liters of spirits) were not postponed mechanically on stores, ”said the study.
If in the twelve days preceding the implementation of containment, alcohol sales in supermarkets increased by 12.4%, they fell by 16.1% (in value) in the 12 days that followed.
The phenomenon of "virtual aperitifs", via applications like Zoom or Skype, "turns out to be marginal" in France, according to the study. Over the period from March 13 to 29, while the total of mass consumption products increased by 26%, "largely due to the record day of March 16", the spirits posted a 3.4% drop in their figure over the same period.
Have the French sold their stocks?
"Some alcoholic drinks have even suffered dramatic declines, such as champagnes (-52.5%) and other sparkling wines (-28.8%), liqueurs and ciders". In contrast, beers (+ 6.9%), rosé wine (+ 3.2%), aniseed and rums are doing well, thanks to the particularly sunny weather that accompanied the first weeks of confinement, "according to the study.
"We can nevertheless imagine that the French have so far drawn from their reserves [bars and cellars] for their consumption of confinement", estimates Nicolas Léger, analytical director at Nielsen, for whom consumers, depending on the duration of confinement, "could be led to renew their stock in the coming weeks. ”
