CGA's latest BeverageTrak data highlights the opportunity that events and key dates present for uplift in the On Premise, as the channel continues to move from strength to strength. Most recently, Martin Luther King Day (Monday January 17) saw daily velocities hit double-digit positives across all key states in the US. With key dates such as the Superbowl and Valentine's Day coming up in the next few weeks, the On Premise should see another boost - although will this vary across outlet types. CGA's BeverageTrak solution combines powerful datasets to provide an ultra-granular view of how brands and categories are being consumed, when and at what price. Featuring day and daypart tracking, this enables sales and marketing teams to measure performance and activation ROI to develop effective strategies.

While the Superbowl (February 13) is traditionally seen as an Off Premise event, sports bars do benefit with sales at least +30% higher than an average city. The host city also benefits over the course of the Superbowl weekend, driven by strong Friday and Saturday velocities, with Atlanta (+42%), Miami Gardens (+43%) and Tampa (+20%) all experiencing an uplift in sales during the respective years they hosted the event.

Immediately following the Superbowl is Valentine's Day, with the weekend surrounding this occasion typically attracting an influx of visitors to the On Premise. Compared to the average weekend during this time of year, Valentine's Day weekend saw a velocity boost of +18% in 2021, driven by increases in both traffic and check value. As anticipated, eating outlets experience a sizeable uplift over the Valentine's Day weekend (+23% in 2021), but drinking outlets also get a boost (+8%). Unsurprisingly Fine Dining outlets, followed by Polished Casual and Casual Dining, show the largest uplift versus the average, however Premium Bars and Neighborhood Bars also experience a similar level of velocity increase.

Total U.S.

. Velocity and week on week performance continue to follow a very similar pattern to 2019 and 2020, further reinforcing that the On Premise has returned to normal seasonal trading patterns.

. Latest trends have been flat or slightly positive, with a +3% increase to January 22, followed by flat trends (0%) in the most recent week.

. This performance is comparable to pre-COVID-19 trends of 2019 & 2020, slightly outperforming those years by +7% and +2% respectively.

. The week to January 15 saw Illinois (+13%) & New York (+9%) experiencing the strongest trends following a larger drop the previous week.

. The latest week's performance is driven primarily by an increase in traffic (+3%), with check value (+1%) also positive.

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Florida

. Florida is up versus both last year and 2020, with the week to January 22 reporting a nearly flat trend of -1%

. Sales velocity is now +1% vs February 1, 2020

. Sales velocity is now +17% year-over-year (comparing the same week one year prior)

. Sales velocity is now -1% vs January 22, 2022

Illinois

. Illinois is down on 2020, but +49% year on year, and similar to most states, reported a slightly negative week on week performance in the week to January 22

. Sales velocity is now -13% vs February 1, 2020

. Sales velocity is now +49% year-over-year (comparing the same week one year prior)

. Sales velocity is now -5% vs January 22, 2022

California

. In the latest week, California was slightly negative (-2%) but is significantly up versus 2021.

. Sales velocity is now +6% vs February 1, 2020

. Sales velocity is now +114% year-over-year (comparing the same week one year prior)

. Sales velocity is now -2% vs January 22, 2022

New York

. Blizzards hitting New York over the most recent weekend resulted in negative daily velocities for Friday January 28 (-10%) and Saturday January 29 (-50%) for the state

. Sales velocity is now -20% vs February 1, 2020

. Sales velocity is now +52% year-over-year (comparing the same week one year prior)

. Sales velocity is now -11% vs January 22, 2022

Texas

. Texas was positive in the latest week to January 22 (+1%) and trending positively against both 2020 and 2021.

. Sales velocity is now +14% vs February 1, 2020

. Sales velocity is now +19% year-over-year (comparing the same week one year prior)

. Sales velocity is now +1% vs January 22, 2022

Matthew Crompton, CGA Regional Director - North America, said: "With these big On Premise events just around the corner, we should see an uptick in both traffic and check value, with CGA's BeverageTrak solution allowing us to run thorough analysis across all events, to the extent of monitoring sales by the hour. The significant impact that key dates have on sales velocity also highlights the importance of understanding how different occasion types can drive the decision making process across outlets."

CGA's On Premise Impact Report is a fortnightly sales report evaluating the different dynamics across the US and the impact of On Premise trends. For more information and support understanding these different dynamics, and developing channel-specific strategies, contact Matthew Crompton at Matthew.Crompton@cgastrategy.com

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