According to the Liquor Distribution Branch, BC residents bought more alcohol during March and April as the pandemic started to take shape.
The wholesale value of alcohol sold in the province increased to 605-million during the two-month period, a spike of nearly 22% from the 498-million two years ago.
Rod Cragg manages the 10th Avenue Liquor Store in Prince George told Vista Radio they noticed an immediate spike during those months.
“People were coming in and asking us if we were closing and at that time we were unsure because the liquor industry was quite labelled an essential service so people we’re coming in and panic buying at first.”
The volume of beer, spirits, wine, and other alcoholic beverages also went up from just under 66-million litres in 2018 to 76.6 million litres this year.
This includes purchases at nearly 700 private liquor stores, 197 government-run liquor stores, and 8-thousand licensees like restaurants, bars, and stadiums.
The BC Government declared a provincial state of emergency on the coronavirus in mid-March and made liquor stores an essential service a few days later.
Cragg noted that alcohol sales in their store plateaued out once the announcement was made.
“They actually did level out a little bit but there is still a rise in liquor sales because a lot of people are sitting at home bored or doing the social distance isolation thing and they don’t want to be around people so they are sitting at home having a drink.”
However, Cragg has noticed a decrease in foot traffic and sales this week as more people head back to work during Phase 2 of the BC Restart Plan.