Bud Light Sales Fall Off Cliff In Worst Week Since Boycott Began
'Fifteen days to flatten the curve' has turned into three months for Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch.
Remarkably, the most recent sales numbers for the embattled brew are somehow worse than they've ever been. Three months into the raging boycott, Bud Light sales have fallen off a cliff.
For the week ending June 10, sales dropped by a staggering 26.8%, according to the latest data from Bump Williams Consulting and NielsenIQ.
Not only is that wider than the 24.4% from the prior week, it also topped the previous all-time worse plunge of 25.7% during the week ending on May 20.
Not exactly a great sign for the don't worry, the boycott is ending soon crowd!
“This was a tough week for Bud Light," Williams said.
Bud Light leading the way, but all Anheuser-Busch sales plunge
Gee, ya think? Goodness gracious, we're closing in on a 30% drop here before too long, which is a number even I didn't think was possible.
Unfortunately for Anheuser-Busch, the most recent plunge didn't just stop with Bud Light.
Budweiser was down 10%, while Natural Light was down 2.3% and Michelob Ultra sales dropped 2.4%. All of those, by the way, are worse than the prior week.
But hey, there is some good news for Bud Light!
Modelo Especial -- the beer that overtook BL for the top spot in May -- was only up 5.7%. I say good news because that's not quite as much as the 12.2% jump it took the prior week.
Silver linings?
These most recent numbers come in the wake of yet another desperate push from Anheuser-Busch to save its top-selling beer.
Last week, CEO Brendan Whitworth vowed to take a road trip over the summer to talk with customers, while he also said the company is providing financial aid to distributors around the country who have lost money.
Earlier this week, 'Bar Rescue' host Jon Taffer -- the scariest man on TV not named Gordon Ramsey -- told Fox Business he didn't think the boycott would ever end.
“Beer brands and people’s connection to their beer is an identifier of your personality, it’s almost emotional,” Taffer said. “People connect with these brands very heavily and in their view the brand slapped them in the face.
“This isn’t going away any time soon … it’s forever.”