Hard Seltzer Will Peak On The Fourth Of July. What'll You Be Drinking?
Can you guess which three brands people are buying up the most?
We all love those dubious, endlessly entertaining data maps provided by Google Trends, which tell us things like what people are grilling on Memorial Day and the most popular pies in each state for Pi Day. Of course, the issue is that these maps don't really tell us anything—since they measure "uniquely searched" terms in each state rather than any sort of poll responses or sales data, there's no indication that someone in Illinois is more likely to, say, grill Portobello mushrooms on a holiday weekend than someone in Iowa. But Instacart data? Yeah, that's a touch more reliable. It's based on what people have actually bought, so we know which grocery items people fully intend to consume. And this Fourth of July, more people than ever before intend to consume hard seltzer. (Is anyone surprised?)
Interpreting data shared with The Takeout, representatives for Instacart predicted that this July 4 will be the highest day for hard seltzer sales on record. That would align with current sales trends, because hard seltzer already sells best on weekends (for obvious reasons) and July 4 falls on a Sunday this year. Any guesses as to what the top three brands are?
Even if you guessed the top two, you might not have immediately guessed the third: White Claw, Truly, and Bud Light. Not too many surprises there! What I hadn't thought of was where these sales are happening most. Instacart data indicates that hard seltzer tends to sell best among 21- to 43-year-olds in suburban and smaller urban areas, as opposed to larger cities. (Then again, maybe that just means that more people in those areas are using Instacart to order their booze because there aren't as many walkable liquor stores? And that more people in that age bracket use Instacart? Again, the data is only as good as its source.)
What do you plan to sip on this Fourth of July? Assuming you have a little time off at some point over the weekend to kick back and relax, what beverage will you want to have in hand while doing it?