With over 200,000 Israelis in quarantine due to the coronavirus variant, liquor stores report a significant increase in the sale of alcoholic beverages and tobacco products.
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"From the time people began to worry about getting infected, and are in quarantine, we have seen a 30% increase in sales, mostly in wine," Shalev Pilo, vice president of the Hermitage wine and spirit retail chain, said. "It reminds us of the very beginning of the pandemic when people hoarded and bought more.
"When people worry about getting infected, they prepare for possible self-isolation. Consumers buy not only vodka and beer but also cocktails and cigars. Whoever enters quarantine wants to pamper himself. If he buys whiskey, he chooses a quality kind, like Glenmorangie or Macallan. In general, there is at least a 24% increase in alcohol cases compared to last year.
Pilo said, "the price ranges, and not all products have become more expensive." Nevertheless, "prices are expected to rise soon. Israeli wines have already become 12% more costly, which is why Israelis buy them less, but the price of imported beverages has not increased."
The Bana Beverage wine and liquor chain also reported an increase in sales.
"There was an increase in in-store purchases of whiskey and cognac as well as deliveries," Penny Bachar, the chain's marketing director, said.
According to Bachar, customers also send "quarantine baskets" to friends and acquaintances in self-isolation.
"People spend more time at home, and as such, sales have increased dozens of percents," she said.
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