Pixabay
Pixabay
During the climax of the shutdowns in Iowa, many residents decided to pick up some spirits and drink their boredom away.
According to NWestIowa.com, the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division says there was an 18% increase in alcohol sales. The report specifies that the increase was in March. The report also highlights that there was a 2% increase in April.
Tyler Ackerson, who is the executive officer of the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division, said that he believes the increase was tied to behavior.
“We think a lot of that is tied to some changes in consumer behavior because of the COVID-19 virus,” Ackerson told NWestIowa. “In mid-March, bars and restaurants were ordered closed to help prevent the spread of the virus, and at the same time, we started seeing increases in sales by us, so that led us to believe that Iowans were shifting their purchasing from those sit-down restaurants and bars to more by-the-bottle purchases."
He said it appears that northwest Iowa was a contributor to that big increase in March and that several counties in northwest Iowa had 66% to 68% increases in their sales, compared to last March.
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