By Sue Gleiter, pennlive.com (TNS)
For the second time in three decades, Pennsylvania’s wine and spirit sales have dropped.
Total sales for the 2024-25 fiscal year in the state totaled $3.16 billion, down by about $21 million or 0.6% compared to the previous year, according to a recent report released by the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board.
The agency said net income for the year totaled $135.2 million, about $106.9 million or 44.2% less than the previous year.
The fiscal year ran from July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025.
PLCB Spokesman Shawn Kelly said the last time the agency experienced a sales drop was in 2019-20 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sales in that fiscal year totaled $2.56 billion, about $110.9 million less than the prior year.
Before that, the agency noted a decline in the 1993-94 fiscal year, he said.
Kelly attributed several factors to the recent sales drop.
“Customer habits are changing and there is a trend now away from wine and spirits and toward ready-to-drink cocktails. People are looking at health trends as well,” he said.
Economic uncertainty and tariffs, he said, also factor into the figures as more consumers are watching their spending.
Along with the sales decrease, the PLCB said increases in payroll and benefits and changes to its pension and other post-employment benefit expenses contributed to the net income decrease.
Kelly said Pennsylvania is not alone, noting that declining sales was a common topic at an industry conference he attended in Bethesda, Maryland, in October.
According to a recent Gallup poll, the percentage of adults who say they consume alcohol has dropped to 54%, the lowest in the survey’s 90 years.
Younger adults are drinking less than previous generations, with about 50% surveyed saying they drink, a drop from 59% in 2023.
The decline is being felt locally, too, as bar owners across central Pennsylvania are taking measures to increase late-night business.
Many have adjusted their closing times, added more happy hours or other perks such as free darts.
Earlier this year, Chuck Moran, executive director of the Pennsylvania Tavern Association, told PennLive that owners who want to fill empty seats have to be creative and use tools, including legislation passed last year.
In 2024, amendments to the Liquor Code bumped up the number of designated happy hours from 14 to 24 hours a week. It also gave establishments the ability to advertise discounted meal combos with adult drinks.
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