Do Liquor Sales Reflect State Of The Economy?
FORT WORTH (CBSDFW.COM) - The day before Thanksgiving is one of the top two sales days of the year at liquor stores.
"I came right off work, in my scrubs as you can see..." said customer Tiphani Hargrove.
The pre-holiday isn't just an important because of the high alcohol sales volume, it's also an indicator of what retailers can expect consumers to do next month.
"It's very important because it starts off the holiday season," explained liquor store manager Martha Allen. "People decide what they're going to buy, what average they're going to spend."
Last year people shied away from the expensive liquors. While the amount of liquor sold by suppliers was up just 1.4 percent in 2009, cheaper brand liquor, those selling for less than $10 for a fifth, grew a whopping 5.5 percent.
In an interview Distilled Spirits Council President Peter Cressy said, "There has been a little bit of trading down and that's no surprise. We have certainly seen that in everything from automobiles to food. Folks are not quite as much into the luxury items as they were, so they're not quite as much into the super premium [liquors]."
In 2009, the Distilled Spirits Council reported sales of top-end/premium liquors dropped more than 5.0 percent. But this year shoppers aren't looking for rock bottom prices.
"The cheap stuff? Uh-uh. I don't -- it gives me a hangover," said Hargrove. "Not Hennessey, the high price. [I'm buying in] the middle – Paul Masson."
At The Bottle Shop in west Fort Worth workers have noticed that customers are "willing to shop a little closer to the top shelf" and are again thinking about "higher end liquor".
"They're buying a lot of the nice gift sets, a lot of higher dollar wine," said Allen.
Wednesday's sales may not be reason to pop the corks and celebrate just yet, but liquor store owners say early signs are promising and that's reason enough for retailers to be hopeful, if not thankful, this holiday weekend.
