According to data released by Ibotta, over the last year, especially since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, liquor sales have spiked.

Ibotta is the leading cash back app that helps people save money on their purchases, and they have seen increases in sales of hard liquor, but drops in beer.

Spirits and hard liquor was up overall 33 percent, and broken down into these types:

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

Meanwhile, beer was reported down 2 percent overall, with the largest drop being crafted import beers.  Wine was also doing well, up 12 percent. The biggest jumps there were flavored, up 73 percent, and fortified wine, up 51.

Locally, we talked to five different liquor and grocery stores, and they said (to varying degrees) their alcohol sales were significantly up since the start of the lockdown. Most of it being hard alcohol.

It could be that beer purchases are often associated with fun social activities such as barbeques or picnics-even sporting events; while hard alcohol could be possibly be being consumed as a way to cope with the ongoing stress we've seen since last spring.

 

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