U.S. alcohol sales fell 3.6% in early August.

U.S. alcohol sales weakened again in early August, with dollar sales and case volume both falling from a year earlier as the industry moved toward the end of the summer selling season, according to NielsenIQ’s latest Total Alcohol Pulse report.

For the four weeks ended Aug. 8, total alcohol dollar sales reached $8.5 billion, down 3.6% from the same period a year earlier. Case volume totaled 167.7 million, down 5.4%. On a week-to-week basis, dollar sales were mostly flat, coming in at $2.1 billion for the week ended Aug. 8, down 0.1% from the week ended Aug. 1.

The report said the soft start to August fit the broader pattern that has defined the category this year. After months of uneven demand, the industry is heading into the final stretch of summer with only a limited number of seasonal selling weeks left to lift results.

Prepared cocktails, which have been one of the main growth drivers in recent years, also lost momentum in the latest period. Sales in that segment fell 0.8% from a year earlier, while case volume dropped 5.2%. NielsenIQ said the segment still aligns with current consumer preferences, but the latest decline suggests the category is becoming more crowded and that competition for growth is increasing. The prepared cocktails grouping includes spirit-based ready-to-drink cocktails, wine-based cocktails, flavored malt beverages and hard seltzers.

Beer posted the deepest dollar-sales decline among the major traditional alcohol categories in the four-week period. Beer sales fell 4.5% from a year earlier and volume dropped 5.5%. The report said beer had shown more resilience earlier in the summer, but that support has weakened as seasonal drinking occasions begin to narrow.

Wine continued to show steady weakness. Dollar sales in wine fell 3.8%, and case volume declined 5.1%. NielsenIQ said wine’s softness has remained consistent through the summer, with little sign of a seasonal lift.

Spirits recorded the smallest losses among the core categories. Dollar sales fell 3.7%, and volume slipped 3.9%. While those figures still point to contraction, the report said spirits continues to be the most resilient of the traditional alcohol segments.

Taken together, the latest results show a market that remains fragmented and under pressure. Prepared cocktails, which had been carrying much of the industry’s growth, are no longer offsetting declines elsewhere. Beer has lost some of the traction it had in early and mid-summer. Wine remains weak, and spirits is declining more slowly than the rest of the major categories but is still below year-earlier levels.

The slowdown extended across the country. NielsenIQ said nearly every top 10 state market posted declines in both dollars and volume in the latest four-week period. Ohio was the most resilient state on a dollar-sales basis, with sales down 2.4% and volume down 4.9%.

Massachusetts showed the sharpest drop in dollar sales among the states highlighted in the report. Sales there fell 7.6% from a year earlier. At the same time, Massachusetts was the only state singled out for volume growth, with volume rising 0.7%. That made it an outlier in a broadly weak national landscape, showing that units moved higher even as revenue fell.

Washington posted the steepest volume decline among the states cited by NielsenIQ. Volume there was down 9.5%, while dollar sales fell 4.8%. The report said the broad underperformance in both dollars and volume was most concentrated in Washington.

The softness was also visible across retail channels. Every major channel tracked by NielsenIQ posted lower dollar sales in the latest period except the “All Other” category, which includes drug, military and dollar stores. Club stores had the largest dollar-sales decline, down 5.2% from a year earlier. Food stores followed at down 4.2%, then convenience stores at down 3.9%, liquor stores at down 3.3% and mass retailers at down 2.7%. All Other Channels was the only area to show growth, with dollar sales up 1.5%.

Volume trends followed a similar pattern, though the order differed somewhat. Convenience stores had the largest volume decline, down 6.8%. Food was down 5.8%, liquor stores were down 4.3%, mass retailers were down 4.0% and club stores were down 3.4%. All Other Channels again showed growth, with volume up 3.4%.

Mass retailers showed one of the clearest changes from the prior four-week period. NielsenIQ said the channel had posted a milder decline in the previous period ended Aug. 1, when dollar sales were down 0.2% and volume was down 1.8%. By the latest four weeks ended Aug. 8, mass retail had worsened to declines of 2.7% in dollars and 4.0% in volume.

The report’s data point to a market facing pressure in both consumer demand and pricing power. In some places, such as Massachusetts, volume held up even as sales fell, suggesting mix or price dynamics may be shifting. In most markets and channels, however, both measures moved lower at the same time, indicating a broad-based pullback in alcohol spending and unit sales.

NielsenIQ’s findings cover retail measurement periods through Aug. 8 and reflect performance in the latest four weeks across total U.S. alcohol, its major beverage categories, leading states and key retail channels.