PHILADELPHIA -- A new study of beverage sales in and around Philadelphia since the city enacted a 1.5-cent-per-ounce tax on sweetened drinks shows carbonated-soft-drink (CSD) sales dropped "a staggering 55%" inside the city. That was offset, however, by a 38% increase in soda sales just outside the border of the city, according to the report from Catalina, a digital media company based in St. Petersburg, Fla.
"This shift in soft-drink purchasing behavior can also be seen in the number of soda shopping trips and in the volume of purchases per trip just outside the border. The volume of soft-drink purchases per trip is up 17% compared to last year, and overall penetration of carbonated-soft-drink shoppers is up 12%," the report says. "Our study also shows that sales of bottled water, perhaps an alternative to sweetened beverages, have increased in Philadelphia. However, the sales of natural refrigerated juices, which are also not taxed, have declined, most likely because shoppers mistakenly believe they are being taxed."
Below is an infographic looking at the results of Catalina's report, which studied 109,000 transactions in and outside of the Philadelphia city limits and concluded: "Across a variety of sweetened beverage categories, the Philadelphia sugar tax has dramatically cut sales within Philadelphia’s city limits; however, it has also substantially increased sales at stores just outside city limits. Many shoppers are now traveling outside the city to buy their sweetened beverages."
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