AI-assisted summary
Factors contributing to the slowdown include health concerns, rising costs, and a shift in consumer preferences toward non-alcoholic beverages.
While overall alcohol sales are down, sales of non-alcoholic beer and ready-to-drink cocktails have surged.
A company in North Jersey that produces White Claw hard seltzer announced this summer that it’s laying off 143 people due to what one of its executives characterized as a slowdown in the alcohol industry.
Sales are dropping and fewer people are drinking, various data points have shown. An August Gallup poll showed that 54% of Americans reported drinking liquor, wine or beer — the lowest level since the Great Depression, when 58% of Americans said they drank alcohol.
In 2024, 58% of Americans said they drank and 64%