Brits booze their way through coronavirus lockdown boosting sales of beer, wine and spirits by almost a THIRD

With pubs shut across the land, people are drinking more at home and creating virtual parties and bars on video conferencing apps.

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Across all types of goods, sales were down by 5.1 per cent in March — the biggest monthly fall since records began 30 years ago, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Non-food sales were down 20 per cent, with takings at ­clothing retailers falling by a staggering 35 per cent.

But increased food and drink sales helped to even things out a little — with alcohol sales alone up by 31.4 per cent.

It means an extra £300million was spent on booze by Brits in March, taking the monthly total to around £1.2billion.

Fraser McKevitt, from analysts Kantar, said: “Those already missing their favourite haunts have been stocking up to recreate trips to the pub with friends over apps like Zoom, Houseparty and FaceTime — boosting alcohol sales.”

'120MILLION PINTS A WEEK'

Wine has been the most popular tipple during the lockdown, followed by lager, gin, whisky, craft beer, cider, ale and alcopops, according to separate research by CGA for the Wine and Spirit Trade Association.

Stores say Brits are buying twice as much beer as normal, meaning they are sinking 120million pints a week.

The figures will be a welcome boost for drinks firms losing sales from pubs being shut.

But it will come as little solace to the 47,000 boozers across Britain that could remain closed until Christmas.

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Professor Joshua Bamfield, director of the Centre for Retail Research, said: “Some people might be deciding beer is the best medicine.

“There’s good trade for alcohol spending in stores, with a share of drinking moving from pubs to homes due to coronavirus, and the trend for increased home drinking will continue.”

But the booze bonanza papers over the cracks amid a torrid time for many retailers.

Although supermarkets saw takings rise by ten per cent — and food sales doubling online — they are expected to fall back next month as families start to tuck into stockpiled supplies.

And experts suggest the overall slump is likely to get worse.

Thomas Pugh, of Capital Economics, said: “With widespread lockdowns only beginning around the middle of the March, retail spending looks like it will fall by much more in April, perhaps around 20 to 30 per cent.”

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He said department store sales did rise by 2.8 per cent month on month, but that appears to be due to purchases of food and other items online.

However, Karen Johnson, head of retail at Barclays Corporate Banking, said: “Although the headline figures were expected, there have been some glimmers of hope — with spend on food and drink a notable, if not unexpected, area of success.

“Bricks and mortar retailers have seen walk-in demand disappear. But the early indications are that online spending has also performed better than predicted — showing that consumer spend has not closed down entirely.”