SL-020 Retail Therapy—New Ways To Sell

Welcome to this special episode of Sightlines, part of Good Beer Hunting’s continued coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic. I’m Bryan Roth.

A month ago, millions of Americans were sitting at bars and breweries, sharing a pint or cocktail with friends and loved ones. Today, for most of the country, that’s not possible, as states have issued stay-at-home or shelter-in-place guidelines, forcing the closure of what’s known as “on-premise” for the alcohol industry—the bars and restaurants and places we all went out to for a drink.

What’s left is the “off-premise,” the many kinds of grocery, convenience, liquor, and other stores where we go to get some food—and toilet paper, if we’re lucky—and stock up on beer. We can’t go out to drink, so it’s these locations that are thriving as shoppers bring the bar home.

COVID-19 has forced an unprecedented pivot toward off-premise since the start of March, and in Good Beer Hunting’s Sightlines stories, you may have kept up with all the changes that have happened as breweries have been forced to adapt to to-go sales or get as much product in off-premise chain stores as possible. 

In the first three weeks of March compared to last year, Americans spent about 17% more in off-premise chain stores tracked by IRI, a market research firm. In the second and third weeks of the month, seven-day stretches have been roughly the equivalent of what’s sold around the Fourth of July, typically the highest-selling beer holiday, amassing about $1 billion for the week of the summer celebration.

For some businesses, like grocery or liquor stores, this new reality has meant something as simple as non-stop sales. Nothing’s really changed operationally except for the amount of hand sanitizer and cleaning wipes readily available. On the business side, things are booming.

For others—namely those on-premise establishments—it’s meant trying to create a whole new business model out of thin air.