Bud Light Sales Suffer Before Fourth of July

Bud Light sales have not seen a notable improvement in the period leading up to the July 4 holiday week, according to the latest U.S. beer market figures—a time when breweries are expected to see elevated revenues as consumers stock up ahead of Independence Day.

In the week ending June 24, the beer brand's sales revenue—its dollar income—was 27.9 percent lower than the same week a year ago, according to Nielsen IQ data provided by Bump Williams Consulting to the New York Post on Monday.

Meanwhile, its sales volume—the number of units of beer sold—was 31.3 percent lower than the same week in 2022—the largest recorded disparity since the company faced calls for a boycott over its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney at the start of April.

The latest figures suggest that after a sharp decline in sales at the outset of the controversy, Bud Light has seen consistently lower sales compared to how it fared last year. In May, Modelo Especial overtook it as America's top-selling beer.

"The Fourth of July is the biggest beer holiday in terms of retail sales and an opportunity to move a lot of volume," Dave Williams, vice president for analytics and insights at Bump Williams Consulting, told the Post. "And there has been no notable signs where the course has changed for Bud Light."

In the week ending June 17, the beer brand's sales volumes were down 31.1 percent, and in the week ending June 10, they were 30.3 percent lower than the same week in 2022.

Newsweek approached Anheuser-Busch, Bud Light's parent company, via email for comment on Tuesday.

During the controversy, Anheuser-Busch was accused of alienating its traditional customer base with the partnership, while some in the LGBTQ+ community have also slammed the company for not defending its ties with Mulvaney.

While the company's global CEO, Michel Doukeris, said in a May 4 investor call that the declining Bud Light sales represented about 1 percent of Anheuser-Busch's global volume, the latest figures suggest the backlash is having a lasting impact on the beer brand's U.S. revenue.

Since the boycott began, its year-on-year sales results declined rapidly through April, bottoming out around a quarter less than their 2022 levels in late May. After a slight recovery, they have begun to dip further through June.

However, Williams previously cautioned to Newsweek that elevated beer sales in the summer of 2022 could make the decline from week to week appear greater. The figures are a percentage of last year's weekly sales, which may have risen and fallen, rather than an average baseline.

The backlash over Bud Light sending a commemorative can to Mulvaney to celebrate a year of transitioning to being a woman has also hurt the sales of Anheuser-Busch's other beer brands, including Budweiser and Busch Light, the data shows—albeit to a lesser extent.

Bud Light's competitors, including Coors Light and Miller Lite, have seemingly absorbed the demand from boycotters—despite the latter facing its own calls for a boycott over a supposedly "woke" advertising campaign.

Ahead of July 4, Bud Light released a new ad featuring American football player Travis Kelce in an apparent return to appealing primarily to male beer drinkers.

However, this was still subject to criticism, with online users describing the plea as "desperate."

In May, Doukeris said Anheuser-Busch had "significantly increased" its investment in Bud Light in the U.S. market and pledged to triple its media spend over the summer.