Early in March, the state of West Virginia began to allow Sunday spirits sales—and they are quickly gaining traction. “It’s time West Virginia updated the regulation,” says Chad Bartley, director of alcoholic beverages at Smoker Friendly, which has 13 Smoker Friendly’s Liquor Plus stores selling spirits in West Virginia. “It should have a positive impact on overall business, and add extra sales to justify having the doors open on a Sunday.”
Governor Jim Justice signed the law to repeal the ban on Sunday sales on the morning of Friday, March 1, and it went into effect on Sunday, March 3. “There was not a lot of time for announcement, and not many folks knew about it,” Bartley says. “We flooded our social media pages to spread the word and displayed signage by our registers. The second Sunday was about double what the first Sunday was. Once the word gets out to everyone, sales will obviously continue to grow.”
West Virginia Sunday retail spirits sales are projected to reach approximately $5.9 million a year and generate $1 million in state tax revenue if all eligible stores open, according to the Distilled Spirits Council. “I expect sales to be much better during the summer and in fall for football season, when last minute picnics and parties are in play,” Bartley says. “I initially thought about some promotional events for summertime, like ‘Sunday Funday,’ but haven’t finalized anything yet.”
Under the new law, spirits retailers are permitted to sell spirits from 1 p.m. to midnight on Sundays. Retailers were already permitted to sell beer and wine on Sundays. Of Smoker Friendly’s Liquor Plus stores, only one store, a smaller express store, won’t be open on Sundays. “Eight of those 13 stores were already operating with Sunday hours of 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. for sales of other products, but we’ve now extended those hours and opened the other four liquor stores that weren’t operating on Sundays,” Bartley says. “Whether Sunday sales yield a large increase of overall sales or just cut down sales on Friday and Saturday will have to be evaluated.”
Although some people argue that Sunday spirits sales merely spread six days’ worth of sales over seven days and increase retailers’ operating expenses, proponents say there’s more to it. “Sunday sales generate incremental revenue,” says David Ozgo, senior vice president of economic and strategic analysis at the Distilled Spirits Council. “It’s not just spreading six days worth of sales over seven days. There are some surveys that indicate Sunday is becoming the busiest shopping day of the week. Most people are off on Saturday or Sunday so that is naturally when people do most of their shopping.”
Sunday spirits sales continue to grow elsewhere in the U.S. In 2018, Indiana and Tennessee approved Sunday spirits sales. Texas lawmakers are also considering legislation this year to allow Sunday sales. If adopted, Sunday package store sales are projected to increase Texas retail sales by between $108 million and $150 million annually. Case volumes would go up by 574,000 to 803,000 cases, and supplier revenues would increase by $65 million to $91 million, according to an economic analysis by the Distilled Spirits Council. “Right now, spirits are at a competitive disadvantage because Sunday is the day so many people are out doing their shopping,” Orzo says. “That’s particularly true if you can buy wine and beer at a grocery store, which you can in Texas.”