Friday fun? On-premise sales were weak through mid-May

beer on a bar — Not fun enough? Act like it’s the end of the week and enjoy these Friday Funs: Brewing beer in a blender, beer waffles or how to teach your dog to fetch beer.

Nothing says Monday fun like stats! And, no one quite knows point-of-sales stats/fun like GuestMetrics. GuestMetrics collects check-level data from the point-of-sales (POS) systems of more than 10,000 restaurants and bars closely representative of the broad on-premise sector across geographies, and with respect to the make-up of casual dining, bars/clubs, fine dining and lodging. The company just released a press release detailing its last month of activity.

Here’s the breakdown:

Traffic: On-premise trends were weak through the 4-week period ending May 17, deteriorating slightly from weak April trends. While the hope was that soft trends during Feb/March were weather-related, the continued weakness in April and first half of May indicates consumers continued to hold back spending for this channel. With traffic down 2.7 percent in the latest four weeks, the question is whether higher wage rates and an improved economy will bolster on-premise sales over the next few months.

Share changes between alcohol beverage categories: Beer unit share is down 0.8 percent in the latest four weeks, wine share was flat and spirits share was up 0.7 percent.

Overall beer: Beer unit growth was -5.7 percent during the four weeks through May 17, a deterioration from the -5.3 percent seen during the last 12 weeks, and below the -3.4 percent growth seen during the full year of 2014.

Beer segments: Premium Light’s y/y share has moderated from -1.9 during 2014 to -1.3 during the latest 4 weeks; conversely, Craft’s y/y share gains have slowed from +1.8 during 2014 to +1.1 during the latest four weeks; Imports’ y/y share is running down -0.2 for the latest 4 weeks; and Cider’s y/y share gain slowed slightly from +0.5 during 2014 to +0.2 during the latest 4 weeks.

Overall spirits: Spirits unit growth was down -2.4 percent during the latest 4 weeks, which is a deterioration from the -1.9 percent seen during the latest 12 weeks as overall on-premise traffic suffered.

Spirits categories: Segments gaining share include Irish, Brandy/Cognac, Tequila and Bourbons/Blends. Segments losing share include Vodka, Rum and Cordials.

Craft spirits: Domestic Craft Spirits continue to take market share at an accelerated pace.

Overall Wine: Wine volume growth was down -3.9 percent during the latest four weeks well below the -0.9 percent growth seen during the full year 2014.

Wine varietals: YTD, the largest y/y share gainers were Red Blend, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Prosecco, and Moscato, while the largest share donors were Merlot, Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Riesling