Booze categories that bucked the downward trend over Christmas

Although spending on booze in the run-up to Christmas dipped this year, falling 4.% on the same period last year, there were some categories that bucked the trend, proving that Brits still can’t resist festive booze. 

Data from Worldpanel by Numerator (formerly Kantar Worldpanel) shows that Christmas shoppers spent more than £1.9bn on take-home alcohol in the four weeks to 28 December 2025,  a decline of -4.1% on the previous year. And while three quarters of households bought into the alcohol sector, this was down 3.3% compared to the same period last year, with those who did buy, buying slightly less often than last year, around 4.8 trips on average.

Although, the spend on alcohol was down on last year overall, there were some categories that bucked the trend. Champagne was a particular driver of sparkling wines this season, contributing to an overall uptick of +4.6% in the wider sparkling category  on the same period last year, amounting to an additional £9 million.

There was also growth in the RTD single-serve category, showing convenience (and no-waste) are still king. This category saw a 4.5% bump, or an uplift of £1.7 million.

Another, perhaps surprising uplift, came in the stout and porters category, which saw sales up 24.3% in the run up to Christmas.

And as previously reported, moderation continued to be a theme, with the no and low-alcohol options of BWS, Cider and RTD all growing. Shoppers spent nearly £5 million more on the sector this year compared to last – around £35 million during the four week festive period.

As db reported back in November, the UK supermarkets unleashed a round of aggressive Champagne discounting ahead of Black Friday in the run up to Christmas, with own-label bottles dropping as low as £11.58. Aldi also started to limit the number of Champagne bottles that shoppers were able to buy by mid-December, in a bid to prevent shelves being emptied too early.

The retailer has since confirmed that it sold more than 5.5m bottles – the equivalent of 33m glasses – of sparkling wine over the festive period, with overall grocery sales of £1.65 billion in the four weeks to Christmas Eve, its best-ever Christmas, which was up 3% on the previous year.

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