Christmas trends from Vinmonopolet show that Norwegians are buying less red wine for Christmas dinner, and rather go for lighter products and alcohol-free.
The Vinmonopol is completely closed on Christmas Eve. Therefore, the 23rd has become a day when Norwegians rush to the shop to buy drinks for Christmas food.
Communications Manager Jens Nordahl of Vinmonopolet tells NTB that sales are steadily increasing closer to Christmas Eve.
“It’s a thriller when customers come. So it will be very busy days for Vinmonopolet employees to fill the shelves as customers come closer and closer to Christmas,” he says.
Christmas sales, which last from December 1st to 23rd, at Vinmonopolet have increased by 1.9 per cent this year compared to last year.
Trends
Last year, Christmas sales of sparkling wine reached 616,000 liters. This year, Norwegians bought 674,000 liters of sparkling wine. An increase of 9.4 per cent.
White wine, rosé wine and cider have also increased in sales.
“People eat more lightly than before and then they want something easier to drink. And we see a trend that people want drinks with lower sugar content, fewer calories and less alcohol in,” says Nordahl.
While the lighter products have increased, red wine sales are falling. Red wine is still clearly the biggest category. This year, more than 4.7 million liters of red wine were sold in December, compared with just under 4.8 million liters in the same month last year, a decrease of 0.9 per cent.
“This has been a trend we have seen for several years, ever since 2012, and this is related to the temperature. Although it is gloomy in most places in the country, it is not exactly fireplace weather. And with warmer temperatures, we see that for many, red wine must give way to lighter and leaner products,” explains Nordahl.
Surprising
Christmas beer sales have also dipped. In 2018, 558,000 liters were sold, compared to 551,000 liters this year. This is a decrease of 1.3 per cent.
“This comes as a surprise to us. And we simply have no explanation for that. In fact, we expected growth, but have found the opposite,” says Nordahl.
Alcohol-free this year has increased by as much as 12.3 per cent compared to last year, from 79 thousand liters to 89 thousand liters.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
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