U.S. retail beer sales fell 2.6% in the four weeks ending Oct. 24

Beer sales in U.S. retail channels remained under pressure in the four weeks ending October 24, but the pace of the decline eased as the category picked up some seasonal strength late in the month, according to NielsenIQ’s latest Beer Pulse report.

NIQ said dollar sales for total beer, excluding flavored malt beverages and hard seltzer, fell 2.6% from a year earlier in the latest four-week period, while volume declined 4.3%. The firm said weaker consumer demand drove most of the downturn, accounting for 84% of the decline, while reduced distribution accounted for the remaining 16%.

On a weekly basis, dollar sales reached $849.6 million, down 0.8% from the prior week. NIQ described the latest movement as an improvement from earlier trends, saying beer benefited from seasonal momentum building late in October.

The report showed that the industry’s largest segments were still declining, though some categories improved more than others. Domestic premium posted the sharpest losses among the major segments, with dollar sales down 6.6% and volume down 7.7%. Craft also remained weak, with value down 4.6% and volume down 6.1%.

Imports showed the most notable narrowing in losses. NIQ said import beer sales slipped 0.7% in dollars and 2.3% in volume, a smaller decline than in other major segments. Domestic super premium also improved, with dollar sales rising 0.8% and volume edging up 0.2%, making it one of the few parts of the category to return to growth.

Outside the core beer segments, cider and non-alcoholic beer continued to outperform the broader market. Cider was up 5.3% in dollar sales and 3.7% in cases, while non-alcoholic beer rose 7.6% in value and 6.4% in volume. Those gains stood out against the broader category’s declines and added to signs that some consumers continue to shift spending toward alternative beer-adjacent products.

Among manufacturers, Anheuser-Busch remained the largest by dollar sales, even as its sales fell 3.1% and its case volume dropped by 2.2 million. Constellation ranked second and was one of the few top manufacturers to post dollar growth, with sales up 0.8%, although its case volume still fell by 133,300. Molson Coors Beverage Co. held the third spot, with dollar sales down 4.7% and volume down 1.6 million cases. Heineken USA ranked fourth, with dollar sales down 7.5% and cases down 373,300. New Belgium Brewing rounded out the top five and posted the strongest performance among that group, with dollar sales up 7.1% and case volume up 62,000.

Constellation also led the ranking of top manufacturers by dollar growth among the largest players, followed by New Belgium Brewing. Sapporo Breweries Ltd. posted the strongest growth rate in that list, with dollar sales up 15.3% and case volume up 18,600. Schilling Cider also appeared among the fastest-growing manufacturers, though NIQ listed its dollar comparison as not available while showing case gains of 7,100. Boston Beer posted 0.5% dollar growth despite a decline of 9,800 cases.

At the brand level, Modelo remained the top beer brand by dollar sales. Its revenue was flat from a year earlier, while case volume declined by 212,800. Budweiser ranked second, with dollar sales down 8.4% and volume down 1.8 million cases. Michelob was third and one of the strongest performers among the largest brands, with dollar sales up 3.7% and volume up 307,300 cases. Corona ranked fourth, with dollar sales down 3.3% and volume down 324,700 cases. Coors was fifth, with dollar sales down 2.8% and case volume down 494,500.

Pacifico led the brand growth rankings, with dollar sales up 22.7% and case volume up 317,300. Michelob was second on that list, followed by New Belgium, whose brand sales rose 8.1% and case volume increased by 57,000. Victoria posted 17.4% dollar growth and added 78,300 cases, while Busch completed the top five with dollar sales up 1.5% and case volume up 10,000.

The NIQ data points to a beer market that is still shrinking overall, but at a slower pace than earlier in the year, with imports, domestic super premium, cider and non-alcoholic beer showing more resilience than mainstream domestic and craft segments. Within the largest brands, growth remained concentrated in a smaller group, including Pacifico and Michelob, while Modelo held its lead despite flat sales and several legacy domestic brands continued to lose ground.