“Everyone is talking to us about Dry January, even our customers”: a relatively quiet month of January for the wine merchants of Gard Rhodanien

Les cavistes de la région constatent une évolution des modes de consommation. Midi Libre – NATHALIE AMEN VALS

For several years, wine merchants in the Gard Rhodanien have noticed a drop in footfall in January. According to them, Dry January undoubtedly plays a role.

Dry January is not without consequences for the region's wine merchants. “There are fewer customers in January, observes Mélissa Gache, sales manager at Maison Sinnae in Chusclan. The phenomenon has been visible for 3-4 years, and each year the repercussions are felt more and more. Everyone is talking about it, even the customers who continue to come.”The manager points out, however, that the beginning of the year is a historically low period for sales, with Dry January only accentuating an already existing trend.

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At the Cellier des Chartreux in Saint-Gervais, Léa Failla is also feeling the effects of Dry January. For the past two years, the establishment has been expanding its alcohol-free range in January. “We are running a campaign on social media. The 35-45 age group is our core target, they see it as an opportunity to detox, says the wine merchant. And the success of the operation encourages us to keep more and more alcohol-free products all year round.”

A change in consumption patterns ?

Rémy Barrot, manager of the Vins sur Cèze boutique in Bagnols-sur-Cèze is also developing an alcohol-free offering, which is seeing its share of sales increase although it still remains “minimal”. The wine merchant also considers that consumers now prefer quality to quantity: “In December, I had fewer customers but a more expensive average basket. My turnover even increased by 1% compared to last year, while I recorded 5% fewer customer tickets.”

A drop in attendance, without necessarily seeing such a significant drop in turnover: this is also what national data indicates. Although wine remains one of the French people's favorite alcoholic beverages (neck and neck with beer), its consumption continues to decline. In 2022, French people aged 15 and over drank an average of 47 liters of wine per year, compared to 57.5 liters in 2001. But they are prepared to spend more: the share of 18-65 year-olds who allocate more than €10 to the purchase of a bottle of wine increased from 28% in 2014 to 79% in 2022.

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