Nearly one-quarter of consumers plan to purchase boo-ze for their Halloween celebrations, according to market research firm Numerator.
For 23% of holiday survey respondents, beverage-alcohol products are on the list for their spooky season soirees, which is nearly double the rate of those who plan to buy non-alcoholic drinks (12%).
Beer is the most popular choice for revelers, with 62% of respondents who plan to make bev-alc purchases saying they’ll have it in their baskets. Spirits (of the liquid variety) are next most common, with 51% of respondents planning to buy, followed by wine (42%), ready-to-drink canned cocktails (29%) and hard seltzer (25%).
Numerator surveyed 5,347 souls last month about their plans for the haunted holiday, and 62% said they will celebrate Halloween. Revelers lean younger, as 73% of Generation Z and millennial respondents said they will observe the occasion.
The most popular way to celebrate is by decorating, which 59% of Halloween fans plan to do, followed by distributing candy to trick-or-treaters (58%), gathering with friends and family (33%) and going out trick-or-treating (31%), according to Numerator.
Four-in-five respondents (80%) plan to buy candy – by far the most popular purchase. Nearly half of respondents (48%) plan to buy decorations, followed by food (38%), costumes or other clothing (37%), beverage-alcohol (23%) and party supplies (14%).
Fall beers peaked during Week 30, which began July 22, in depletions (sales to retailers) data tracked by wholesaler invoice tech company Fintech, according to data shared with Brewbound by National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) chief economist and VP of analytics Lester Jones.
“Fall season peaked sooner and fell off faster compared to 2023,” he wrote in an email. “Seems fall seasonals play out a little differently every year – yet they always remain a steady part of the industry.”
Year-over-year (YoY) dollar sales comparisons vary for several popular fall seasonal beers in the four-week period (L4W) ending October 5, according to NIQ data provided by 3 Tier Beverages.
- Boston Beer-owned Samuel Adams OctoberFest -5.4%;
- Sierra Nevada’s Oktoberfest +22.9%;
- Gambrinus-owned Shiner Oktoberfest +1.6%;
- And Shipyard Pumpkinhead -4.9%.
For the L13W through October 5, which began July 12 and likely includes seasonal transition from summer beers to fall, Samuel Adams’ trends show slight improvement (-3.8% YoY) that declined as the season went on. Sierra Nevada’s scan sales improved over the period (+19.2% in the L13W). Shipyard’s losses decelerated (-6% in the L13W). Shiner’s remained fairly stable (+1.2% in the L13W).