How are RTDs reshaping seasonality in the US?

As the only beverage alcohol category in the US expected to grow in the coming years, RTDs have moved beyond their pandemic-era boom, becoming more mature and driving shifts in seasonal consumption trends.

RTD volumes in the US grew by +1% in 2024, according to IWSR data, and are expected to maintain this momentum in the years ahead, with a forecast CAGR of +1% between 2024 and 2029. Meanwhile, RTDs’ share of TBA (total beverage alcohol) servings[1] grew from 4% in 2019 to 8% in 2024 – and is expected to reach 9% by 2029.

“Recruitment of new RTD consumers has slowed as the category matures, but consumption frequency is increasing, especially among Gen Zs and Millennials, who value perceived health benefits, functional attributes and variety,” says Marten Lodewijks, President, IWSR US. “As RTD habits establish themselves in casual and social drinking moments and the beer category erodes, frequency continues to increase.”

In 2025, according to the IWSR RTD Strategic Study 2025, 55% of US RTD drinkers described themselves as ‘frequent’ consumers – defined as drinking RTDs once a week or more – up from 44% in 2023. RTDs enjoy broad appeal with both genders, skewing to younger demographics, with 57% of RTD consumers in the US either Millennials or Gen Zs.

As RTDs continue to expand, their growth is mainly coming at the expense of beer, with some share also being pulled from wine. Asked in 2025 what they would have chosen before they started drinking RTDs, 40% of Gen Z consumers said beer, as did 39% of Millennials and 44% of Gen Xs.

Seasonal focus

An analysis of data using IWSR’s US Navigator tool, which offers granular, state-by-state detail on consumption trends, shows that this switch from beer to RTDs has a notable seasonal focus, with RTDs making strong gains in the spring and early summer, while beer comes to the fore later in the year.

RTDs make consistent volume gains in April versus March, with volumes rising by between +4% and +17% month-on-month since 2019, but then decline in August versus July, with month-on-month volumes down between -3% and -11% over the same timescale.

Meanwhile, beer volumes are typically softer in April versus March, before regaining ground in August versus July.

“IWSR’s Bevtrac consumer research supports these findings, suggesting that RTDs are more top-of-mind in the early summer – consumed on the last occasion by 14% of US consumers in April 2023 – than they are later in the year (11% in September 2023),” explains Lodewijks. “At the same time, substitution responses indicate that beer is the most common category that RTD consumers switch from, at 18%.”

Spirits and aperitifs

But beer is not the only category impacted by this shifting seasonality dynamic. Spirit-based RTDs are continuing to gain momentum in the US, with IWSR forecasts predicting that they will dominate RTD volume growth to 2029, boosted by their category-leading levels of innovation and NPD.

IWSR US Navigator data shows that vodka and gin volumes decline during the summer months of July and August, but spirit-based RTDs grow in April – on a month-by-month basis, their volumes have risen by between +7% and +10% since 2019, and have seen only modest declines in August vs July (down by between -2% and -4%).

Again, this analysis is supported by IWSR’s Bevtrac consumer research, where 7% of RTD drinkers say they have switched from vodka. Furthermore, substitution responses indicate that some vodka and gin drinkers name RTDs as a viable alternative, reinforcing this replacement dynamic.

There are also signs that the growth of spirit-based RTDs is impacting aperitifs: while aperitifs posted strong growth in the US during the 2019-21 period, their volumes have plateaued since 2022 – a period during which spirit-based RTDs have continued to climb.

Looking at IWSR’s Bevtrac consumer research, RTD drinkers who are consuming more RTDs are more likely to attribute their increased consumption to seasonal preferences during the spring (25% in March 2024 and 2025), but cite convenience in the autumn (38% in September 2024).

“Our US Navigator findings clearly show that RTDs are leading in terms of resonance with consumers during the early summer period, while beer takes over later in the year,” says Lodewijks. “At the same time, there are signs that vodka, gin and aperitifs are all losing ground to spirit-based RTDs.

“Our Bevtrac consumer research supports this narrative, indicating that a number of influential factors – including consumer recall, substitution and motivations – follow this same seasonal crossover, engineering a meaningful shift in seasonal consumption patterns in the US.”

[1] Defined by IWSR as 330ml for beer/cider/RTDs; 150ml for wine; 50ml for spirits