This year, retail outlets selling alcoholic beverages must completely switch to stamped accounting in the Unified State Automated Information System system: it will be prohibited to sell alcohol with old stamps that have not been transferred to piecemeal accounting, as well as bottles with damaged or lost excise stamps.
Naturally, such changes raise questions not only among those who are just starting to work in this market, but also among experienced sellers. We tell you what innovations are coming, and how retail can properly prepare for them.
How has 2021 affected the operation of liquor stores?
Self-isolation and quarantine measures in Russia naturally shook up all markets, including the alcohol market. For example, at the very beginning of last spring there was a sharp demand for alcohol - beer, wine, spirits. According to MTS Kassa analysts, in some regions sales increased by 30 percent or more. Part of the increase could be due to the May holidays, when people traditionally buy more alcohol, but in 2021 the figures for the same period were lower by a quarter.
During the summer months, demand fell and was below last year's levels until the end of autumn. Perhaps such a decline (in some areas up to 60%) was associated with a decrease in household incomes amid the pandemic and the fact that summer and autumn are traditional seasons of decreased demand for alcohol .
Sales began to grow only closer to the New Year holidays, but not as actively as in previous years. In general, we can say that in 2020, sales of alcoholic beverages across the country fell, in some regions even by a third. This year the situation is gradually returning to the pre-quarantine norm .
Is it true or not that Prohibition will be introduced from May 1 to May 10, 2021?
In fact, these rumors have no basis, so the government officially declares: the “prohibition” for the May holidays is nothing more than a fake.
Few readers are aware that the Panorama publication publishes satirical texts, so they immediately believed in the non-existent news. Initially, no “prohibition” was planned for the May holidays. At the same time, the authorities of some regions reserve the right to limit the sale of alcoholic beverages on certain days. If you find this or that news on the Internet, be sure to check the source. If the text does not contain a link to government websites, most likely this information is fake.
In Russia, at the state level, it is prohibited to sell retail alcohol only on January 25 - Students' Day in Russia, June 1 - International Children's Day, June 27 on Youth Day, September 1 on Knowledge Day and November 17 on International Students' Day.
In some cities, for example, Yekaterinburg and Barnaul, restrictions on the sale of alcohol are introduced only on May 9. And some regions have introduced a complete ban on the sale of beer and other alcohol from May 1 to May 10.
