Jul 10, 2023
Once the country’s top-selling beer, Americans have soured on Bud Light in recent months.
In fact, the brand has fallen off the list of the 10 most preferred beers in the U.S., according to a recent poll of American drinkers conducted by YouGov. Having been awarded ninth place in last year's survey, it has tumbled to rank as the 15th most popular beer in the country.
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The dip is being attributed to a boycott of the brand started on April 1. Here’s what it means and whether “this bud” could ever be for the U.S. again.
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Sales have been falling short
The boycott, spurred by a public relations partnership in April, appears to have had a huge impact on Bud Light’s sales. In just one week, sales dipped 17%.
And they’ve continued to trend downwards. By June, Bud Light fell second place behind rival brand Lager Modelo Especial in terms of U.S. sales volume, based on data from Nielsen and Bump Williams Consulting.
In the most recent week reported by Nielsen, the brand sold 28.5% fewer cans and bottles than the previous week.
Bud Light’s reputation has taken a hit too
The latest YouGov poll adds another layer to this story. During the second quarter of 2023, the firm polled 1,468 people across America to measure their preferences for different beer brands. Guinness, Corona and Heineken came in as the most popular, with 51% to 58% approval ratings.
Bud Light, meanwhile, had an approval rating of 42% — putting it on par with Pabst Blue Ribbon, Miller Genuine Draft and Miller Light.
However, the brand’s approval rating was 42% in the same quarter last year — indicating that Bud Light’s approval rating may be a matter of taste.
What comes next?
Research indicates that online boycotts may not be as durable or impactful as some believe. Jura Liaukonyte, an economics professor at Cornell University, studied sales of Spotify premium subscriptions and Goya beans after their boycotts by conservative consumers. Both brands faced consumer backlash and boycotts due to political issues. And their analysis indicates that the dip in sales is often temporary.
These sales downturns often only last as long as the media news cycle does. Once the news cycle moves on, sales gradually recover and the brand’s long-term trajectory remains intact, according to Professor Liaukonyte and her team.
On that basis, the team expects Bud Light to see little to no impact from these boycotts over the long term.
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Vishesh Raisinghani is a financial journalist covering personal finance, investing and the global economy. He's also the founder of Sharpe Ascension Inc., a content marketing agency focused on investment firms. His work has appeared in Moneywise, Yahoo Finance!, Motley Fool, Seeking Alpha, Mergers & Acquisitions Magazine and Piggybank.
