Bud Light Sales Drop 29.5 Percent in Latest Week Since Boycott Calls

Bud Light has continued to suffer declining fortunes as a boycott of the beer brand over its partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney is reported to have had a lasting impact on its sales and revenue.

According to data by Bump Williams Consulting and Nielsen IQ, provided to Newsweek, in the week ending May 20, sales volume—the number of units of beer sold—declined 29.5 percent compared to the same period last year, while sales revenue was down 25.7 percent on the same week in 2022.

Anheuser-Busch, Bud Light's parent company, has been accused of alienating its traditional customer base with the partnership, while some LGBTQ+ campaigners have also criticized the company for not defending its ties with Mulvaney.

Brand strategists have criticised the brewery over its response to the backlash, which they characterized as being peppered with "knee-jerk" reactions that only extended the controversy.

While the company's global CEO, Michel Doukeris, said on May 4 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.

In the four weeks to May 20, Bud Light sales revenue—the brand's dollar income—was 24.3 percent lower than the same time last year, while co-brand Budweiser recorded a 10.5 percent hit in the same period.

As previously reported in Newsweek, in the four weeks to April 29—which covers the first month of the controversy—the beer brand saw an overall decline in sales revenue of 17.2 percent off a 21.4 percent drop in volume.

Dave Williams, vice president for analytics and insights at Bump Williams Consulting, said at the time that the result "raises questions about the potential long-term implications."

The two back-to-back, four-week sales results suggest the effects of the boycott have only worsened in May. However, elevated beer sales in the summer of 2022 could make the decline from one month to the next this year appear greater.

Williams told Newsweek on Tuesday that the rate of decline Bud Light sales have displayed "has been a bit steeper" in May than in April, but added that it "does appear to be plateauing."

However, he said: "The absolute magnitude could still creep up if those percentage drops are going up against bigger holiday/summer weeks in the [year ago] time period.

"One thing is for sure, the rate of decline has not gotten any better just yet."

While not directly comparable, Nielsen IQ data shows that sales revenue was down 9 percent in the U.S. lager industry in the 52 weeks to April 23 on the previous year-long period—suggesting an overall contraction in beer sales across the market.

Despite the general downturn in the industry, competitors to Anheuser-Busch's brands have shown a resilient performance, with Miller Lite recording a 20.7 percent increase in sales in the four weeks to May 20 compared to the same time a year ago—despite facing its own calls for a boycott over a supposedly "woke" advertising campaign for Women's History Month.

Similarly, Coors Light recorded a 22 percent increase in sales year-on-year in the same period, off the back of a 15.4 percent increase in sales volumes. This continues a trend of Bud Light's competitors absorbing the demand from boycotters.

Another continuing trend is a decline in sales of Anheuser-Busch's other beer labels, which appear to have suffered a knock-on impact from the backlash.

In the four weeks to April 29, Michelob Ultra saw a 2.8 percent decline in sales volume, while in the four weeks to May 20 this had declined to 7.3 percent.

Similarly, Busch Light sales volume contracted 2.6 percent in the April period; in May, it was a 10.1 percent decline. Meanwhile, Natural Light went from a 6.4 percent drop in sales volumes to a 9.1 percent decrease, compared to a year ago.

Newsweek approached Anheuser-Busch via email for comment on Tuesday.

Update 05/30/23, 10:24 a.m. ET: This article was updated to include comment from Dave Williams.