Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 31,500 beer, wine, and liquor stores in the US sell alcoholic beverages to individuals and businesses. They are the third tier in the three-tier system of manufacturers, distributors, and retailers. Seventeen US states operate state-controlled liquor stores, known as Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) stores.
Alternative Channel Competition
Supermarkets, big box and convenience stores that are permitted to market and sell alcohol have several advantages over specialty liquor stores.
Regulations Affect Operations
Alcohol retailers are one of the most tightly regulated retail industries.
Industry size & Structure
An average beer, wine, or liquor store has 6 employees an generates $2.3 million in annual revenue.
- 31,500 US firms generate $71.5 billion in revenue with 178,000 employees.
- 88% of firms are single establishments.
- The top 50 firms account for 24% of sales and 16% of employees.
- 46% of all revenue comes from stores with fewer than 10 employees.
- There are currently 17 monopoly or "control" states in the US where the state controls the distribution or retailing of alcohol. Large control states include Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. Control jurisdictions represent approximately a quarter of the nation’s population and account for roughly 23.0% of distilled spirit sales and a significantly smaller percentage of beer and wine sales.
- Large chains include BevMo!, Total Wine & More, and Government-controlled ABC (Alcoholic Beverage Control) Stores.
Industry Forecast
Beer, Wine, and Liquor Stores Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Apr 8, 2025 - Wine Shops Bracing For Tariffs
- Wine sellers are bracing for the financial impact from President Trump’s 20% import tariff on all goods from the European Union, including wine. While the 20% tariff announced on April 2 is far less than the 200% initially threatened in March, shops that carry a lot of European inventory say tariffs could upend their business. “Basically, I would either have to increase prices by whatever the price increase is coming to me from importers, or try to completely turn around my entire business model,” said Damien Carney, who owns Avinage wine shop in Petaluma, California. Wines imported from other countries – including Argentina, Chile, Australia and New Zealand – will face 10% tariffs. Higher costs are the last thing the wine industry needs right now with wine sales falling due to lukewarm interest from younger consumers and competition from spirits and other alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks.
- Dry January is over, but sellers of alcoholic beverages aren’t breaking out the champagne as the sober curious movement continues to gain momentum in the US. New findings from marketing firm NCSolutions (NCS) reveal that nearly half of Americans (49%) say they plan to drink less alcohol this year, a 44% increase since 2023. The percentage of people planning to cut back on alcohol consumption has been trending upward over the last three years. In 2023, 34% of Americans planned to drink less, rising to 41% in 2024. In 2025, 30% of Americans say they’re taking part in Dry January, a 36% increase from last year. Per NCS purchase data, Dry January is the least popular month to buy alcohol. In 2024, purchases of spirits tumbled 39% in January compared to December, while wine purchases fell 36% and beer/cider/hard seltzer purchases decreased 21%.
- Sales of premium-priced products, once a major growth driver for wine and spirits, are underperforming overall sales, data from the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America (WSWA) shows. The WSWA data, which looked at sales from wholesalers to more than 450,000 retailers nationwide, found off-premise sales in the $100+ tier fell by 8.5% in the 12 months ending August, while the $50-$99.99 tier dropped by 4.3%. The decline in wholesale sales of wine and spirits threatens retail sales due to reduced assortments in stores and on bar and restaurant menus. Moreover, the recent downward sales trend signals challenges ahead for most wine and spirits categories in the crucial holiday selling season and into 2025. As consumers pull back on purchases of higher-priced premium products, which carry higher margins at retail, it threatens revenue for beer, wine and liquor retailers.
- Employment by beer, wine and liquor stores shrank 1% in January compared to a year ago, while average industry wages rose 7.7% over the same period to $19.11 per hour, just pennies shy of their high in September, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Industry producer prices fell 2.9% year over year in December after rising 2% in the previous December-versus-December annual comparison, BLS data show. Sales for the US beer, wine, and liquor stores industry are forecast to grow at a 3.72% compounded annual rate from 2025 to 2029, slower than the growth of the overall economy, according to the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.
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