March 2020, announcement of the first confinement.
In shock, the French stockpile pasta and toilet paper but, even though cafes and restaurants are closed, hardly buy alcohol in supermarkets.
Now is the time to fight Covid-19, not to party.
Of course, there are Zoom aperitifs.
Certainly, wine fountains are successful.
“But overall, alcohol sales are falling, champagnes in mind,” rewinds Emily Mayer, from Iri.
From May 11, on the other hand, the French will celebrate their newfound freedom on the café terraces, but also by consuming rosé, white wine and other beers at home. The second (end of October 2020) and third (April 2021) lockdowns did not have such a negative effect on alcohol sales. On the contrary, the closure of cafes and restaurants, continuously since October 28, 2020, has encouraged the French to increase their private consumption.
"In 2020, alcohols (excluding wine) sold in supermarkets increased by 5% in volume", attests Nicolas Léger, of the Nielsen Institute.
A trend that was accentuated at the end of 2020 - champagnes jumped by 50% at Christmas at Carrefour - and especially at the start of 2021: “From January 1 to mid-April, alcohol sales grew by 14%. », Continues Nicolas Léger.
“In the first quarter of 2021, champagne, but also white wines, beers and spirits all recorded double-digit growth,” confirms Audrey Sonnendrecker, at Carrefour.
White wine sales have never reached such a level
Over the first three months of the year, the figures impress.
“In January and February, spirits and champagnes jumped 24%,” notes Emily Mayer.
Over the same period, Nicolas' sales jumped 30%.
“And white wines had never reached the 2021 level,” recalls Audrey Sonnendrecker.
As for the “attractiveness rate” (
Editor's note: the number of households buying a product in a given year
) of spirits, it also reached the unmatched level of 30% this year.
Finally, the Tiendeo site, which lists current promotions and has 5 million users in France, recorded in February 2021 an annual jump in requests "of 13% for champagne, 90% for whiskeys, 184% for beers and 304% for rums, ”explains Delphine Tobias, the site's spokesperson.
A sensitive question, as the fight against alcoholism is a public health issue: has this consumption "at home" just compensated for the moments that we no longer spend on terraces?
Or do the French consume more than before?
"Before the Covid, out of ten bottles consumed, eight were in mass distribution, one in wine merchants and one in cafes and restaurants", assesses Christopher Hermelin, the marketing manager of wine merchant Nicolas.
"In 2020, for beer in any case, there were roughly as many liters bought less in cafes as liters bought more in supermarkets", considers Nicolas Léger.
"The French have, before, all imported their alcohol consumption at home", also judges Joseph Bordonaro, of Kantar.
The Covid puts other risks in the background
Several other trends emerge. The first is that of the “premiumisation” of consumption, as the experts say: after saving last year, the French are having fun and are buying more expensive bottles than before. Finished, the period of the first confinement where the "cubis" were piled up in the caddies. Make way for quality. "Beers at two or three euros a bottle go like hot cakes", emphasizes Joseph Bordonaro. “And at Christmas, we sold a lot of champagne for more than 30 euros a bottle,” adds Audrey Sonnendrecker.
Another notable fact: all types of alcohol are concerned, whether beers or wines such as whiskeys, rums and other spirits.
"Let us not forget that in the current period, alcohol is an anxiolytic and an antidepressant", underlines Pascale Hébel, sociologist at Crédoc.
"You have to reckon with the psychological harshness of this situation, which never ends," confirms Emily Mayer.
And while before 2020, 17% of people questioned said they were anxious, this percentage rose to 21% in March 2021. Especially, in one year, the percentage of respondents who make sure to reduce their consumption of alcohol, tobacco or drug use fell from 40% to 20%.
"Faced with the risk of Covid, we are uninhibited compared to other risks", decrypts Pascale Hébel.
Once the cafes reopen, will there be a drop in purchases of alcoholic beverages? Not necessarily, because certain habits taken at home could continue, point out several experts. "We are in an economic crisis and the financial factor matters: consuming at home is cheaper than going out", underlines Nicolas Léger, who also recalls that the health crisis is not over, and "that some French people will not have want to expose yourself to germs ”.
