02 Feb 2026
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This landscape has changed dramatically over the last 5 years - Jan 2022 they were 42% lower on average than the other months of the year, in Jan 2026, this reduction is around 25%
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Crowning ‘Damp Monday’ in early January as sales of beers, wines & spirits soar 11% compared to the week before
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Sales of Argentinian & Chilean wine soaring 25% & 27% compared to this time last year
Move over Blue Monday, it’s all about ‘Damp Monday.’ This year, the January slump ended early on the 12th, when shoppers started adding more wines, beers and spirits back into their baskets, with sales up 11% compared to the week before.
We’re seeing a significant 'softening' of the Dry Jan trend. In January 2022, alcohol sales were around 42% lower on average than the other months of the year, in January 2026, this reduction is much smaller, around 25%, signaling a more balanced 'Damp January' approach.
For example, compared to this time last year, sales for:
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Argentinian wine +25%
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Chilean wine +27%
Compared to this time last year, searches on Waitrose.com:
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‘Argentinian wine’ +300%
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‘Red wine’ +63%
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‘Chilean wine’ +18%
Pierpaolo Petrassi, Head of Beers, Wines & Spirits MW at Waitrose says, “Damp is the new dry, as we’re seeing customers move away from the 'all-or-nothing' mentality and instead look towards more mindful, ‘damp’ moderation rather than quit entirely. This shift sees the likes of a luxury Argentinian Cabernet sitting comfortably alongside premium non-alcoholic spirits as sophisticated sips, proving that the modern palate values flavour profiles and social connection over the buzz alone.”
“No doubt the no and low trend skyrocketed in 2022 as the result of the ‘pandemic reset’ transitioning out of the final lockdowns, as well as the ‘sober curious’ movement going mainstream on social media. Now, 2026 is the ‘lifestyle’ year, with customers finding balance as part of a more tempered, year-round approach to drinking.”
Data from early 2026 suggests that while 58% of the UK public aimed to cut back, a significant portion, roughly 31%, opted for a "Damp January" - reducing intake rather than cutting it out entirely.*
Notes to Editors
*reported by The Spirits Business
About Waitrose & Partners
Run by over 45,000 passionate Partners, Waitrose has been serving customers for over 120 years and offers extraordinary products in our 317 shops and on Waitrose.com. Inspiring food discovery, our expert Partners run almost 800 specialist food service counters in store, where customers can shop a variety of the best quality meat, fresh fish, dry aged beef, sushi, as well as cheese. Our Beer, Wine and Spirits team features the largest number of Masters of Wine of any UK supermarket and we sell nearly 3,000 different wines, beers, ciders, spirits as well as no and low drinks in our shops, on Waitrose.com and Waitrose Cellar. We are committed to selling products which have been responsibly sourced, grown using the very best sustainable farming methods, some of which are grown or trialled on our very own farm, the Leckford Estate. In 2024, Waitrose was granted the Royal Warrant of Appointment to be Grocers and Wine & Spirits Merchant to His Majesty King Charles III.
