we sort of already knew this, but here are the numbers.
Coke, Pepsi bottlers see sales fall | Reuters

Things aren't looking too good all around. Even vitaminwater sales have slumped, and that band was on a tear for a good many years.

Someone's crystal ball has predicted the numbers will be flat for next year, which would be a positive given the declines we've been seeing over the past few years.

It's interesting that numbers fell again, given the amount of promotional activity we've been seeing this year, even during off-holiday weeks and also during holidays where soda wasn't typically aggressively promoted, like Halloween. I think this is an isolated thing (but I could be wrong, I just haven't been in any other stores to confirm/deny), but the Pepsi distributor we compete against in our area is running PepsiCo brand 12 packs (no Crush or Dr Pepper) for $1.98 for the two weeks leading up to Halloween in our four Wal-Marts. I've seen quite a few people buying a whole cartfull, and I'm sure it's happening just as much when I'm not there. I'm not sure of the logic behind it - they must need numbers, because there sure isn't any profit there.

I wonder if all soft drink sales are down, or if it's just sales of the major brands. I would guess that in these tight economic times, more and more people are either buying the major brands that are on sale or buying the cheaper store brand sodas.

Originally Posted by CitrusCola

I wonder if all soft drink sales are down, or if it's just sales of the major brands. I would guess that in these tight economic times, more and more people are either buying the major brands that are on sale or buying the cheaper store brand sodas.

that's a good point. store brands might've actually seen an uptick.

I was suprised to see CCE down 10% in the US. That's pretty steep.