ACNielsen MMS Summer is the indisputable peak selling period for soft drinks. But what do consumers buy? What factors make them purchase more of one type of product than another. And by how much do sales rise? ACNielsen Homescan has evaluated the change in consumer shopping patterns between spring and summer and found that still mineral water is the biggest single contributor to summer soft drinks' growth. Its surge in sales is followed by sparkling mineral water, colas and dilutables. Together, these sectors attract more than 900,000 additional households on average during the summer months. The increase is driven by the substantial rise in promotions at this time of year. For sparkling mineral water alone, the proportion of sales attributed to a promotion rises by nearly 15%. In the case of colas, for every £1 spent, 58p is attributable to some kind of offer. Summer promotions also encourage switching, not only between brands, but between sectors. Switching tends to be most common in sectors with low levels of loyalty, such as still and sparkling mineral water, where the biggest sales gains in summer are made from consumers who did not purchase in spring. There is also a good proportion of spend coming from consumers adding mineral waters to their soft drinks repertoire. There is no doubt that the increasing levels of promotions attract these consumers. However, colas and dilutables are the reverse, as both sectors have higher penetration and loyalty levels. Summer increases come from consumers adding cola to their soft drinks repertoire and existing users spending more. Value Movements ­ Spring vs Summer 2000 % sales on offer % of households buying Contribution to summer value growth Spring Summer Spring Summer Colas 11.9 53.8 57.7 53.5 56.6 Fresh juice -0.6 20.2 20.7 21.2 22.3 Longlife juice 2.6 12.5 13.4 55.1 57.4 Still drinks 5.9 24.7 27.6 51 55.1 Dilutables 11.4 21.3 22.5 59 63 Lemonade 6.3 22.9 26.4 46.3 50.1 Still mineral water 20.7 13.4 16.8 17.9 21.2 Sparkling mineral water 12.4 26.2 40.9 20.8 25.4 Mixers 4 11.6 10.3 18.8 20.5 Health/energy drinks -4.6 31.6 25.9 12 12.5 All other soft drinks 30 37.6 41.1 57.2 60.9 Total soft drinks 30.1 32.9 96.3 97.2 Reasons for Expenditure Movements ­ Spring vs Summer 2000 Colas Dilutables Still mineral Sparkling water mineral water Net growth 1.8 2.7 23.9 12.8 Switching from one category to another -0.7 -0.9 13.2 7.0 Retained 1.4 1.6 2.8 -0.7 New/lost 1.0 1.9 7.4 6.3 Non buyers 0.1 0.1 0.5 0.2 Source: ACNielsen Homescan {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}