What are We Drinking While On-Premise Is Off-Limits?

Disruption to our social lives changed where and when we drank alcohol this year but what and how much we drank didnamp8217t change as much As suspected restrictions to indoor dining amp8211 such as bans and limitations on capacity sizes led to a shift away from onpremise alcohol purchases at bars and restaurants over the past year Twothirds of alcohol buyers 65 purchased alcohol onpremise in 2019 amid the pandemic that share dropped to just under half 49 That is both a huge loss to businesses and also an impressive retention of customers given the scale of limitations to onpremise consumption during the pandemicThis decline in onpremise consumption is seen across all occasions for drinking with an average decline of 41 across all occasions With health officials discouraging social gatherings at home we also see declines for many offpremise occasions for alcohol consumption although the declines are less dramatic than onpremise What moments didnamp8217t experience a drop More people drank while staying in with their partnerspouse while alone or for regulareveryday drinks such as with mealsWe changed where and when we drink but did we change how much we drink Not really Most legalage Americans say the amount of alcohol they consume stayed the same or that they cut down on drinking consistent with prior years However while theyamp8217re still the minority we did see a small rise in 2020 in people who said they increased the amount of alcohol they consumed in the past yearLooking at the average number of drinks per week we also see a very small increase overall but here the averages show an interesting story by age With fewer onpremise and social drinking occasions younger and older adults decreased their weekly consumption On the flip side adults 3564 increased their consumption by almost a drink per week It may be that along with the concerns that come with a health crisis people in that age group may also be stressed from work and remote schooling if they are parentsAnd did we change what we drink Overall there wasnamp8217t dramatic change in what we drink at home Beer and wine remain the most consumed drinks There was a slight increase in hard seltzer a continuation of the growth trend for this category The big standout is whiskey specifically whiskey other than bourbon and Scotch which jumped up 18 versus last year Whiskeyamp8217s increased appeal was apparently a universal trend in 2020 amp8211 all age groups contributed to the increase in whiskey consumptionThe pandemic forced us to make lifestyle changes almost overnight that altered the situations in which we drink but our tastes and preferences have not been dramatically reshaped by the pandemicThis is the heart of what marketers in all categories can learn from changes in our alcohol consumption this year amp8211 our behaviors are a marriage of situational influence and personal preference Situational influence can change quickly and can be influenced by factors beyond personal control while the personal preference is tied up in identity and the howdoyouevenexplainit factor of each of us just liking what we likeAs we continue to navigate the new normal of life during COVID19 and eventually begin to understand what changes weamp8217ll bring with us on the other side of it we need a balanced understanding of how consumer behaviors are shaped by both situational influence and personal preferenceThe speed of change continues to accelerate and the past year has thrown us some real curveballs The right data can empower marketers more confidently navigate today and plan for tomorrow I love to strategize and help contact me to see this data and more broken out for your target audienceClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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What are We Drinking While On-Premise Is Off-Limits?

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Tamara Alesi

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What are We Drinking While On-Premise Is Off-Limits?

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