Alcohol sales take big jump during coronavirus outbreak

As government officials have closed bars and restaurants over the past week in aneffort to reduce population density in public spaces and help stem the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, sales at liquor stores and home delivery of booze has ramped up sharply.

While bartenders in a handful of states that include New York, Texas and Maryland, plus the District of Columbia, are permitted to turn out creative cocktails for delivery or takeout, consumers at home are stocking up on familiar bottles to pour or mix.

In general, consumers haven’t changed their drinking behavior, report most delivery services and stores. Vodka, particularly Tito’s, remains the most popular spirits order, although not for handsanitizing purposes.

That’s followed by bourbon, particularly Bulleit, as reported by Drizly and Minibar. Other popular orders include tequila (No. 3 for Minibar, particularly Casamigos, and No. 4 for Drizly), Scotch (No.3 for Drizly), and Irish whiskey, which had a notable spike around mostly canceled St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

“Consumers are placing larger orders,” says Liz Paquette, head of consumer insights at Drizly. The average size of orders has jumped 50%, she adds,“which indicates a stock-up mentality.”

In addition, the volume of orders has spiked rapidly. In the seven-day period, ending on March 18, Drizly sales grew at six times its average growth rate. For part of this week alone (Monday through Wednesday), sales were a whopping 10 times the average.