Top beer brands blunt the late-summer slump in U.S. retail sales.

Some leading beer brands are giving the category a late-summer lift in U.S. retail stores, softening what has otherwise been a weak stretch for beer sales, according to the latest weekly off-premise scans from the market research firm Circana.

The new data, released Tuesday, show that beer dollar sales in Circana’s tracked off-premise channels, which include multi-outlet retail and convenience stores, fell 1.8% from the same period a year earlier. That was an improvement from the previous week, when dollar sales were down 2.4% in the week ended Aug. 16. Volume trends also improved, though only slightly. Beer volume was down 3.4% year over year in the latest reading, compared with a 3.6% decline a week earlier.

The numbers do not show a return to growth for the category. Beer remains in negative territory on both sales dollars and volume. But the pace of decline slowed, and Circana’s weekly scans suggest that some of the category’s growth leaders are helping reduce the drag on the broader market as summer comes to a close.

That matters because late summer is a closely watched period for beer. The category often sees demand cool after its peak seasonal months, and retailers use those shifts to judge which brands are keeping momentum and which ones are losing it. A smaller drop at this stage of the season does not change the overall direction of the market, but it can signal that some brands are holding up better than the rest.

Off-premise data are especially important for the beverage business because they track what consumers are buying in stores rather than in bars and restaurants. Those scans can offer a fast read on buying patterns, often before longer monthly summaries are available. Brewers, distributors and retailers use them to adjust orders, promotion timing and in-store displays.

Even a modest improvement can influence decisions beyond the beer shelf. If certain brands continue to resist the seasonal slowdown, retailers may use that information when planning assortment, pricing and merchandising for the fall. That can affect how much space is given to beer versus other beverage categories that compete for attention in the same stores, including flavored malt beverages, ready-to-drink products and nonalcoholic options.

The latest figures also underline the gap between dollar sales and physical volume. Beer volume fell more than dollar sales, which may reflect the ongoing effects of pricing and product mix in the category. In practical terms, consumers bought fewer units than they did a year ago, even if the revenue decline was somewhat smaller. That is a familiar pattern in consumer packaged goods, where higher prices or stronger sales of premium products can cushion dollar results even when total volume slips.

Still, the improvement from one week to the next was limited. A move from a 2.4% decline in dollar sales to a 1.8% decline shows less pressure, not a turnaround. The same is true for volume, where the change from -3.6% to -3.4% points to stabilization more than recovery. Weekly retail data can also be affected by promotional calendars, weather and the timing of consumer trips, so one better week does not necessarily establish a new trend.

What the data do show is that the category’s weakness became less severe in the latest reading. For beer companies looking for signs of momentum heading into the final stretch of summer, that is a useful development. For store operators and beverage buyers, it may offer an early clue about which labels are proving more resilient in a difficult seasonal window and where the next round of pricing and display decisions could land.