Bud Light sales fell for the sixth straight week, industry data shows, amid a boycott that has retailers desperate to unload the unwanted beer.
Since Anheuser-Busch's ill-fated team-up with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney, the beer giant's sales have tanked, its stock price is down and stores have begun marking down Bud Light and other Anheuser-Busch products to get them off their shelves.
Analysts for the trade publication Beer Business Daily, who reviewed Nielsen IQ data, said Bud Light volumes for the week ending May 13 fell 28.4%, following a 27.7% decline the week before.
In at least one store, according to the report, a Bud Light 24-pack was priced as low as $3.49.
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Other Anheuser-Busch brands have taken a hit, too, with Budweiser Red volumes down 14.9% for that week and Michelob Ultra down 6.8%.
Competitors are benefiting from the controversy, with Coors Light sales up 16.9% and Miller Lite up 15.1%, according to Beer Business Daily.
The sales catastrophe has prompted Anheuser-Busch to introduce a promotional rebate ahead of Memorial Day weekend. The rebate promises an amount "equivalent to the purchase price of one (1) 15-pack or larger, up to $15" of Bud Light, Budweiser, Budweiser Select or Budweiser Select 55 paid via Anheuser-Busch Digital Prepaid Mastercard.
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But since some retailers are selling 15-packs or larger of Budweiser products for under $15, the rebate makes these purchases free, excluding sales tax or any state restrictions.
Beer Business Daily analysts expect more promotions throughout the summer to turn around Budweiser's sales.
"This could be a promotional summer the likes we haven’t seen since after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, where there was so much beer inventory backed up in the trade that it initiated the price war of all price wars," Beer Business Daily said.
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The trade publication explained that "large price wars are often sparked by external events—in that case Hurricane Katrina, and in this case Hurricane Mulvaney."
"The only difference this time is the external event is only negatively affecting one brewer," the report said.
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Bud Light’s gifting transgender activist Dylan Mulvaney a personalized pack of beer with the influencer's likeness as part of an ad for the company's March Madness contest and to celebrate the year anniversary since Mulvaney began identifying as a woman has cost Anheuser-Busch nearly $19 billion with shares down 14% amid nationwide boycotts of the beer and sales tanking. The S&P 500 has risen 2.5% over the same time period.
Fox News' Lindsay Kornick, Alex Moutevelis and Suzanne O'Halloran contributed to this report.
