USA: Craft and import consumers won't drive category growth at retail

Buyers have lower buy rates and purchase frequencies, according to ACNielsen, the press announced December 21.
Craft and imported beers are racking up eye-popping sales gains - but they can't grow fast enough to drive category growth at retail.

That's because on three key measures - buy rates, purchase frequency and purchase size - core craft and import consumers lag loyal mainstream and economy beer buyers, according to panel data from ACNielsen.

Tellingly, the buying rate (volume per buyer) of consumers dropped by more than one-third as they switched to crafts and imports, according to the ACNielsen data. That group of buyers represents fully 8.6 percent of lost category volume.
It's unclear exactly what drvies the decline in purchase activity. Price likely is one factor. The heavier nature of crafts and imports likely is another. Pack size also could play a role.

But the ACNielsen data makes clear the shift has major implications for the category.
For instance, the buying rate (volume per buyer) for core craft buyers is one-third that of mainstream buyers and one-sixth that of core economy buyers, according to ACNielsen. Core economy buyers' purchase sizes are twice that of core craft buyers; mainstream buyers' purchase sizes slightly lag economy.

Meanwhile, the buying rate of core import buyers is less than half that of core mainstream buyers and about a quater that of core economy buyers, according to ACNielsen. Core mainstream buyers' purchase sizes are 50 precent larger than those of core import buyers; core economy buyers' purchase sizes are even larger.

The ACNielsen findings buttress the argument of the latest issue of Brew magazine. While brewers (and wholesalers and retailers) need to participate in the growth of crafts and imports, they must focus their energy on mainstream beers. It's not in the category's best interest to drive the growth of imports and crafts at the expense of mainstream.

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