July 3rd traditionally has the highest sales volume for all three types of meat. Consumers were 50 percent more likely to buy hot dogs during the four-week period ending on July 12, 2008 than any other time over the year. The trend is even more pronounced for bratwurst and knockwurst last year, with consumers 106 percent more likely to buy the thicker sausages during the same period.
Until recently, purchases of bratwurst and knockwurst have been growing, with annual sales rising 8.9 percent between June of 2007 and June of 2009. However, sales of bratwurst and knockwurst by volume have fallen by 6.7 percent over the past two months, ending June 13, 2009, compared to the same period last year.

Sales of hot dogs have seen a marked increase during the past two months, increasing 3.7 percent over the eight-week period ending 6/13/09 compared to the same period the previous year. Considering that hot dogs are the less expensive option, the reversal of these trends may reflect consumers’ tighter BBQ budgets.

As for the beer that consumers will be buying to wash down their dogs, Nielsen predicts that almost two billion servings will be purchased in preparation for the Fourth of July in 2009. Supermarkets are likely to see the biggest increase in consumer purchases across all beer categories, with premium light beer driving almost 35 percent of sales volume.

As alcoholic beverage suppliers, retailers and marketers . . .what does this mean for us? What can we learn?

Well, for starters, we need to know how consumers are changing their alcoholic beverage shopping strategies. They are actively comparing prices at the shelf, looking more closely at in-store sales, flyers and ads, and sometimes waiting for their favorite products to be on sale before they buy. With this in mind, it’s critical that suppliers ensure their products are priced right compared to the competition.

Watch Danny Brager Discuss The Economic Hangover

With a weak on-premise environment, today’s biggest opportunity is around the home. Consumers’ intended restraint with an improved economy appears more pronounced in the on-premise as well. The home is key now — and will remain so, at least in the short-term future.

Our research shows that younger consumers, age 21 – 34, will return to their pre-recession level of spending sooner than older consumers. Older consumers have been the hardest hit by this difficult economy and are reining in their spending as a result. Suppliers and retailers need to make sure their value message is strong, and ensure that their product assortment, as well as pricing, is right to meet the varying financial conditions of their target customers and consumers.

Read Nielsen’s complete media release

Summer’s coming. Beer season. And as grocery retailers develop strategies to help maximize their sales during the 2009 summer selling season, it’s clear there are a number of unanswered questions about the economy that could impact your business: Have job losses begun to stabilize? Which way will the stock market go today? Have we hit rock bottom yet?

If we had a crystal ball, it would be easy to determine the answers to those and other questions about our economy. But it’s impossible to predict the future. If you’re a grocery retailer hoping to entice consumers to increase the size of the basket at the checkout this summer, statistics tell an interesting beer story with two very different main characters — the cautious consumer and the affordable-luxury-seeking consumer.

The Cautious Consumer

For anyone in retail, consumer confidence remains a critical issue. Consumers today are cautious, and with good reason. More than 3.6 million jobs have been lost since the recession started, and more than half a million people have become unemployed just since January. The stock market has not only declined significantly since the crash in September, it also has exhibited extreme volatility in the months that have followed. And the housing market looks like it has a long way to go before it regains full health.

Nielsen’s research shows that with consumer confidence at its lowest level in years, consumers’ wallets seem to be as frozen shut as the credit markets. They’re just not letting go of their money like they used to.

The impact of the cautious consumer can be seen across the beverage alcohol sector.

>> Continue Reading At ProgressiveGrocer.com

According to Nielsen, U.S. sales growth for whiskey and brown spirits is outperforming the growth rate of the overall spirits category in 2008.

Whiskey growth rates have been rising steadily this year, with whiskey dollar sales increasing nearly $85 million or 4.4% in 2008 — up from 2.3% a year ago.  At the same time, whiskey volume, while declining a year ago, is now showing growth.

In comparison, dollar sales growth for all spirits has largely remained unchanged. 

The brown resurgence is being led by Bourbons, which doubled their dollar growth rate from a year ago.  Gains from the Canadian Whiskey, Blended Whiskey, and Irish Whiskey segments have also boosted sales of brown spirits.

Despite the struggling economy, ultra-premium products, with an average price of approximately $45 per bottle, continue to record the strongest growth rates among brown spirits.

Outside the U.S., whiskey sales are also trending upward, with 12 other countries, including Venezuela, Russia, Netherlands, Poland, Mexico, Turkey, and Bulgaria, recording double digit growth.

Brown spirits include all whiskeys: Bourbon/Straight, Blends, Canadian, Scotch, Irish, etc., as well as Cognac/Brandy.  White spirits include Vodka, Gin, Tequila and Rum, even if such categories might include aged — and hence brown — variants.

View the media alert.