The latest NIQ On Premise analysis reveals a beer category that continues to face volume pressure, but one where performance varies significantly by segment, format, and occasion. The findings also highlight meaningful shifts in on-premise consumption that extend beyond topline category performance.
This report examines the underlying trends shaping beverage performance through the first half of 2026, including category growth, market share shifts, channel performance, and product innovation.
The latest NIQ on premise update highlights a beer category under pressure, with both value and volume declining over the past year. In contrast, spirits and RTDs continue to capture share, supported by price-led growth and shifting consumer preferences.
As it planned for eventual reopenings of its 11 own-premise locations, craft beverage rollup Artisanal Brewing Ventures surveyed consumers in April and found they wanted more than just the basics to combat the spread of COVID-19 inside taprooms. So, ABV is going a step farther and adding needlepoint bipolar ionization (NPBI) technology to the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems at its nine indoor locations by the end of June.
Off-premise beer category dollar sales have topped $1 billion in three of the last four weeks, according to market research firm Nielsen. Sales of beer, cider and FMBs increased 20.3%, to $1.006 billion, for the one-week period ending June 13, Nielsen reported.
With restaurants and other on-premise retailers allowed to reopen in varying capacities in all 50 states, consumers are tentatively wading back into dining out, according to a survey conducted by Nielsen CGA, the market research firm’s on-premise arm. Nielsen CGA surveyed consumers from June 5-7 in four states — California, New York, Texas and Florida — where restaurants reopened to varying degrees.
After back-to-back billion dollar sales weeks in off-premise retailers, beer category sales fell just short of a three-peat during the first week of June. For the week ending June 6, off-premise beer category dollar sales increased 22.1%, to $998.4 million, according to market research firm Nielsen. Beer category dollar sales in the two-week period covering… Read more »
Off-premise beer category sales topped $1 billion for the second consecutive week, which included the Memorial Day holiday, according to the latest one-week data slice shared by market research firm Nielsen.
The seasonal beer segment hasn’t received the same double-digit bump that skyrocketing off-premise sales have delivered for the overall craft beer segment, according to market research firm Nielsen.
Off-premise beer category dollar sales topped $1 billion heading into the Memorial Day holiday, according to the latest one-week data shared by market research firm Nielsen.
Hard seltzers are continuing to attract new consumers, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study conducted by market research firm Nielsen. During the eight-week period during the COVID-19 outbreak, the number of consumers buying hard seltzer nearly doubled, as 44% of hard seltzer buyers were doing so for the first time, according to the study.
Just 11% of bar and restaurant operators have been able to generate sustainable profits by offering takeout and delivery, according to a survey conducted by Nielsen CGA, the market research firm’s on-premise channel data arm.
The Cinco de Mayo holiday helped boost the beer category to its biggest sales week in 2020 so far for the week ending May 9, as dollar sales in off-premise retailers topped $983.6 million, according to market research firm Nielsen. In fact, the latest one-week period is the highest sales week since last year’s July 4 holiday week, the firm reported.
The hard seltzer segment is on pace to capture 10% of the beer category dollar sales by this summer, according to Cowen analyst Vivien Azer. Last week, hard seltzer segment’s share of beer category dollar sales reached 8.8%, according to market research firm Nielsen. And there are no signs that the segment is slowing down.
Off-premise dollar sales of beer continued to accelerate during the week ending May 3, as beer category sales increased 32.3%, to $952.3 million, during the one-week period, according to data from market research firm IRI shared by Bump Williams Consulting (BWC).
Craft beer purchase intent among wholesalers has hit an all-time low, according to the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA). Nielsen CGA found the number of checks at tracked accounts in the week ending April 25 increased 69% over the week ending March 28.
Beer category dollar sales in off-premise retailers tracked by market research firm Nielsen increased 12.3%, to $856 million, for the week ending April 18, compared to the same one-week last year.
