Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America’s (WSWA) data and insights provider SipSource today released its Q4 2024 Industry Report. This provided analysis of 2024 year-ending market trends, category growth and projections for 2025.
The report highlighted the evolving landscape of the wine and spirits sector amid economic pressures and shifting consumer preferences.
Changing Consumers, Unprecedented Headwinds
The beverage alcohol industry encountered one of its most challenging years in collective memory, with all three categories experiencing volume declines, according to the report. Spirits depletions fell -3.7% and wine fell -7.2% in December-ending data.
Unlike previous cycles where volume shifted between categories, the overall decline likely signaled a broader challenge facing the industry: changing consumer behaviors trending away from alcohol consumption.
| Volume | Revenue | |
| Total Wine & Spirits | -5.4% | -4.8% |
| Wine | -7.2% | -6.3% |
| Spirits | -3.7% | -4.3% |
“Shifting lifestyle choices – including the rise of moderation and abstinence trends – are reshaping consumption patterns,” said SipSource Analyst and industry veteran Dale Stratton. “Additionally, the industry is facing competition from alternative adult beverages like energy drinks, botanical-infused drinks, and hemp-derived products, which are increasingly winning traditional alcohol consumption occasions.”
Moreover, unlike in recent years, revenue trends also followed a downward trajectory, with spirits revenue declining -4.3% and wine revenue falling -6.3% in 2024. Consumers are not trading up as they consume less – the premiumization trend is dying, with the exception of a few categories, according to the report.
Another key factor driving this downturn is the rapid rise in popularity of spirits-based premixed cocktails, also known as Ready-to-Drink (RTD). While contributing to growth in their segment, they also disrupted traditional distribution channels and impacted the revenue of conventional spirits.
The spirit-based premixed cocktail category/RTDs now represent 14.2% of the total spirits market, up from just 3.2% five years ago. Spirits-based pre-mixed cocktails grew by +3.4% in volume and +3.5% in revenue in 2024, with convenience stores emerging as the fastest-growing retail channel (+14.1% volume, +12.4% revenue).
Notably, canned formats dominate the category, accounting for 79.8% of total volume, growing +5.6% in volume and +6.4% in revenue in December-ending data.
Independent data from NIQ Scan further indicates that sales of these products in off-premise channels grew +20.5% in volume and +19.5% in dollars, while convenience store sales surged +31.0% in volume and +29.9% in revenue.
“The rise of premixed cocktails has completely reshaped the supply chain, with many producers opting to distribute these products through beer networks rather than traditional wine and spirits channels. The success of leading brands and variety packs underscores consumer demand for convenience, flavor variety, and experiential drinking occasions,” said Stratton.
Channel Expansion and Market Adjustments
Despite overall industry declines, SipSource revealed a +0.7% expansion in total accounts selling wine and spirits in 2024, largely driven by the growth of spirit-based premixed cocktails.
Convenience stores were the primary growth engine, increasing by +28.1% in Accounts Sold, or the distinct outlets with beverage alcohol sales within the U.S. Additionally, the on-premise segment demonstrated resilience, with total volume growth of +7.5% — more than 2.5 times the off-premise growth rate of +2.8%.
This shift reflected a growing trend of consumer experimentation, portability and convenience, according to the report’s authors. As a result, future category expansions are expected to resemble the trajectory of premixed cocktails rather than traditional spirits and wine.
Looking Ahead
Despite the headwinds of 2024, SipSource projected that if everything stays the same — as in the current trade policy continue — 2025 could be a year of stabilization in negative territory, with minimal fluctuation expected across major categories.
“While the challenges of 2024 have tested the resilience of our industry, we remain optimistic about the future, but not all market conditions will be within our control,” said Stratton. “Stabilization in 2025 will pave the way for renewed momentum in 2026 as we adapt to shifting consumer demands and evolving market dynamics.”
Feature photo by Sigmund on Unsplash.
