TheQuartering [6/21/2023]
‘Fifteen days to flatten the curve’ has turned into three months for Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch.
Remarkably, the most recent sales numbers for the embattled brew are somehow worse than they’ve ever been. Three months into the raging boycott, Bud Light sales have fallen off a cliff.
For the week ending June 10, sales dropped by a staggering 26.8%, according to the latest data from Bump Williams Consulting and NielsenIQ.
Not only is that wider than the 24.4% from the prior week, it also topped the previous all-time worse plunge of 25.7% during the week ending on May 20.
Not exactly a great sign for the don’t worry, the boycott is ending soon crowd!
“This was a tough week for Bud Light,” Williams said.
Gee, ya think? Goodness gracious, we’re closing in on a 30% drop here before too long, which is a number even I didn’t think was possible.
Unfortunately for Anheuser-Busch, the most recent plunge didn’t just stop with Bud Light.
Budweiser was down 10%, while Natural Light was down 2.3% and Michelob Ultra sales dropped 2.4%. All of those, by the way, are worse than the prior week.
But hey, there is some good news for Bud Light!
Modelo Especial — the beer that overtook BL for the top spot in May — was only up 5.7%. I say good news because that’s not quite as much as the 12.2% jump it took the prior week.
Silver linings?
These most recent numbers come in the wake of yet another desperate push from Anheuser-Busch to save its top-selling beer.
Last week, CEO Brendan Whitworth vowed to take a road trip over the summer to talk with customers, while he also said the company is providing financial aid to distributors around the country who have lost money.