Novelist and playwright Oscar Wilde once said, “Everything in moderation, including moderation.” After challenging times as a result of the economic downturn, the on-premise channel has made gains through moderate year-by-year growth. Chicago-based Mintel reported in its May 2015 report titled “On-Premise Alcohol Trends – US” that alcohol beverage sales were up 2.6 percent totaling $93.7 billion in 2014. This was a deceleration from its annual growth between 2009 and 2013; however, the market research firm expects that sales will return to those growth levels.
“Sales are forecast to resume increasing moderately each year between 2014 and 2019, when sales are projected to reach $110.2 billion,” the report states. “The slowly improving economy is driving sales, as consumer disposable personal income (DPI) and confidence rises, buoyed by declining unemployment, and enables them to spend on dining out more frequently than in recent years.”