Consumer Drinking Habits Are Changing & So Should Your Marketing Strategy
As you may have heard, we love data – which is why we regularly poll our audiences to get insight into the key industries we work in. This month, we ran our F&B Consumer Behaviour Survey and the results are in.
It shines a light on changing consumer drinking habits, looking at everything from how much we drink to where we do it and what we like. Let’s get into it and see how these new insights will impact your marketing plan.
There’s clear evidence that people are drinking less
The one thing that stood out in the F&B Consumer Behaviour Survey is that people are reducing their alcohol intake. Cutting back is no longer just a New Year’s resolution – just 16.1% of people took part in Dry January this year – it’s now a year-round ambition.
38% of respondents cut their alcohol intake in the last year. That doesn’t mean they’re going to teetotal – in fact, 56.8% of the people we surveyed still have more than 3 drinks a week – but it does show a growing trend.
And it’s set to continue with 25.2% of respondents planning to cut their alcohol intake over the next 12 months. Contrary to popular belief, the cost of living crisis isn’t the main driver here, with just 14.2% citing money as their motivation.
In reality, the majority of those who are cutting back are doing it for health reasons, with 56.4% of those who did it last year and 75.9% of those who plan to do it this year saying this was the reason for their behaviour changes.
With consumers drinking less, alcohol brands will have to work harder for their spend. But if cost isn’t a factor, there’s an opportunity for premium brands to slip in and steal market share as people seek to drink less but enjoy more.
Consumers love to go out, but they also love to stay in
It’s five years since the pandemic first hit, but our enforced lockdown has caused a permanent shift in behaviour. 58.1% of the people we surveyed now drink at home with friends at least once a month or more.
Staying in has become a social experience in itself, and F&B brands can tap into that with their marketing, whether by inspiring consumers to hold a cocktail night or integrating game mechanics into their advertising strategy.
While we may be spending more time drinking at home, we certainly haven’t given up going out. With just 5.5% of respondents saying they never go out drinking, it’s fair to say that this is still one of our favourite ways to socialise.
But how frequently do people hit the town? It might not be as often as you think. 63.7% of people only go out drinking a couple of times a month – making it more of a special occasion – while 30.8% go out once a week or more.
And we don’t just go out locally. 86.6% of people travel to another town or city to drink at least once a year, with 13.4% doing it at least once a month, making the nighttime economy an important part of destination marketing.
Session drinking still rules the roost
When asked what they like to drink, 46.5% of people said beer and cider. Which is hardly surprising – the lower ABV naturally lends itself to session drinking – when you drink to socialise, you want the experience to last.
This, coupled with the growing desire to cut back our alcohol intake, creates an opportunity for low-to-mid strength drinks to shine. And brands who offer low or no alcohol alternatives are winning favour, especially with younger audiences.
25.7% of the people we surveyed like to drink wine, but only 7.1% like to drink spirits, putting shots and mixers at the back of the popularity queue. All is not lost though because 18.6% of people like to drink cocktails.
Cocktails have become the gateway drink for spirit brands, presenting an opportunity to engage consumers and drive spend through both in-venue activations and at-home experiences that put your brand front-and-centre.
So which cocktails do consumers rank as their number one pick? 14.3% said espresso martinis, 13.9% said mojitos and 11.5% said margaritas. But the desire for an ‘experience’ means the more creative you get, the better.
Drinks brands don’t influence our choices
Here’s a final thought for you – consumers don’t choose where to drink based on the brands they stock. In fact, 44.1% of people never look at the menu before they go and 43% only look at it sometimes.
What’s more, even when people look at the menu, it rarely influences their decision to visit. Just 2% of people said it always does, with 60.9% saying it only does sometimes and 23.5% of people saying it never does.
And when it does, they’re more concerned with the selection of drinks available (55.4%) and the price of those drinks (31.6%), than the availability of their favourite brands and labels (10.6%).
If what a bar stocks doesn’t influence a person’s decision to visit, drinks brands need to find other ways to add value and earn shelf space. Which is something we can help you with.
Our unique insight into your target audience, vast network of connections in the hospitality industry and history of running sell-out activations means we can open doors and make your brand the talk of the town.
