Prague – Interest in alcoholic beverages on the occasion of the Dry February event, which calls for abstinence throughout the month, generally did not drop significantly in stores. This year, on the contrary, the demand for alcohol at some sellers has increased slightly. This follows from information from grocery stores contacted by ČTK. According to them, alcohol sales are more affected by weather and holidays.
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The Billa chain sold more beer, wine, sparkling wine and spirits in February than at the same time last year, said ČTK spokeswoman Dana Bratánková. This year, according to her, interest in non-alcoholic beverages has also increased, and the warmer weather can be behind this, she added. The company sells the most alcohol during Christmas and before Sylvester, beer and wine are most in demand, said Bratánková.
Penny Market customers were also more interested in alcohol in February compared to last year, in the case of wine and spirits there was a 20 percent increase, said spokesman Tomáš Kubík. “Even if some of the customers observe the so-called dry February, they can buy alcohol during the month and consume it later,” he added.
Compared to January, the Košík.cz e-shop had six percent higher sales of beer and cider said spokesman František Brož. According to him, interest in alcohol on St. Valentine's Day was higher year-on-year.
“In connection with the Dry February event, we did not notice any significant fluctuations in alcohol sales,” Lidl spokesman Tomáš Myler said. According to him, the interest in alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks changes more according to the season, for example, beer and lemonade are popular in the summer, he said. According to him, apart from Christmas, spirits go on sale mainly at Easter.
In Kaufland and Globus stores, interest in alcoholic beverages is relatively stable throughout the year. “But the trend is increasing interest in alcoholic mixed drinks, which will gain strength with warmer weather,” said spokeswoman Aneta Turnovská.
At the Rohlik.cz e-shop in February, the demand for alcohol was approximately the same same level as last year, spokeswoman Denisa Morgensteinová said. According to her, customers most often buy beer, wine or prosecco. In February, sales of non-alcoholic wines increased on Rohlik.cz compared to previous months, but the reason for this could also be the discount campaigns that the company introduced, said Morgeinsteinová. But we are seeing a growing interest in non-alcoholic alternatives to prosecco, sparkling wines, aperitifs or beer, including flavored ones,” said ČTK spokesman Albert Jiří Mareček.
According to data from the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ), per inhabitant of the Czech Republic in 2021 ) consumption of 7.1 liters of forty percent alcohol and 20.8 liters of wine, in both cases it was a slight year-on-year increase. The consumption of beer per inhabitant was 135.4 liters the year before, a decrease of 4.5 liters compared to 2020, according to information from the CZSO.
