Corona lager sales skyrocketed in 2020, while cosmetics sales fell

Supermarket data shows Corona and other lagers surged in popularity during pandemic

Olivia Petter
Friday 18 December 2020 09:59 EST
Comments
The fastest-growing grocery product of 2020 was San Miguel, followed by Corona
The fastest-growing grocery product of 2020 was San Miguel, followed by Corona (Getty)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Sales of Corona lager have skyrocketed this year in supermarkets, new data has found.

According to a survey conducted by The Grocer and market research firm Nielsen, sales of tobacco have also soared during the pandemic, while Britons also invested an additional £2.5bn on wine, spirits and meats.

The fastest-growing grocery product of 2020 was San Miguel, with a 63 per cent rise in popularity.

Corona beer came in second place, with a 40 per cent rise in sales, while Budweiser and Stella Artois followed in third and forth place, respectively.

The fifth fastest-growing product was sausages, followed by Pepsi Cola, bacon, and Cadbury Dairy Milk.

Meanwhile, the fastest-falling grocery item was cosmetics, with a 22 per cent decline in sales.

This was followed by chewing gum, styling products and bottled water.

November was identified as being the biggest month ever for grocery sales, with consumer spending nearly £11bn in total during the second nationwide lockdown of the year.

The Grocer’s Top Products Survey is sourced using data from Nielsen’s Scantrack service, which monitors weekly sales data from a nationwide network of checkout scanners and represents sales in grocery multiples, co-ops, multiple off-licences, independents, forecourts, convenience multiples and symbols, online grocery retailers and online fulfilment store. 

Rachel White, Nielsen’s retail intelligence leader for the UK and Ireland, said the pandemic had “shifted consumer shopping habits to the extreme. 

“With more free time at home, consumers moved away from chilled ready-meal options and focused instead on creating their own dining experience at home, cooking with fresh ingredients and enjoying a drink at home rather than at the pub.”

The data comes as it was also revealed that diamond sales have also decreased this year, falling by a third in 2020 compared to 2019.

De Beers, the world’s biggest diamond producer, reported having provisionally sold $2.7bn (£1.9bn) of rough diamonds during 2020.

But in 2019, the company reported sales of more than $4bn (£2.9bn).

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in