MOSCOW, January 26. / TASS /. Beer became the best-selling alcohol in 2020 in the Krasnoe & Beloe (Red&White) and Bristol chains, while neither wine nor vodka made the Top-50 popular product list, according to the study conducted by the CheckScan platform made available to TASS on Tuesday.

ChekScan studied approximately 280,000 checks in the largest Krasnoe & Beloe and Bristol liquor stores in 2020 in all Russian federal districts.

"The most popular alcohol among Russians throughout 2020 was beer products, which are consistently included in the Top-10 best-selling products. Compared to beer, vodka and wine were practically not in demand. Vodka never entered the Top-50 best-selling beverages, and wine is in the Top-100," according to the study. At the same time, the most popular products were often the products of non-alcoholic groups. In February, cigarettes were in the lead in sales in Krasnoe & Beloe, and in August - December single use masks. In "Bristol" beer was the leader in sales from January to July, and from August to December sanitary masks.

The average bill in Bristol in 2020, according to analysts, was 444 rubles, and in the Krasnoe & Beloe network - 497 rubles. Analysts recorded a sharp rise in the average check in April due to the lockdown. "Then there was some correction, especially noticeable at Krasnoe & Beloe where the average check dropped to 467.75 rubles, which was lower than the network's indicators at the beginning of the year, while showing predictable rapid growth in the New Year holiday month up to 604.37 rubles and 578.53 rubles for Krasnoe & Beloe and Bristol, respectively," the study said.

"The average bill of the largest alcohol chains grew throughout the year. A slight adjustment did not greatly affect the bottom line - compared to the beginning of the year, the average bill grew almost twofold. One peak was deliberately expected: the New Year and the associated increased alcohol consumption, but another is difficult to explain anything but negative sentiments in April, isolation," said Vladislav Vernigora, founder and CEO of CheckScan.

CheckScan was founded in 2017 and allows verified users to store and organize information about their purchases of goods and services by scanning a QR code on a cash register receipt.