One in five (20%) adults who drink alcohol claim they will cut back on the amount of alcohol they consume in the run up to Christmas, with a further one in five (19%) unsure yet, as to whether they will reduce their consumption. Recent research on behalf of Retail Intelligence by Empathy Research, amongst a nationally representative sample of 854 alcohol purchasers, sought to understand how this reduction in alcohol consumption may impact behaviour.
Those most likely to be giving up alcohol in the run up to Christmas are in the 25-34 age group, where almost 3 in 10 (27%) claim this to be the case. The older age groups exhibit lowest levels of alcohol reduction pre-Christmas with just 1 in 8 (12%) aged 65+ planning on reducing their consumption levels.
Almost a third (32%) claim they will give up alcohol for the entire month of November, while just over 1 in 5 (21%) would not commit to such an undertaking, instead reducing their weekday alcohol consumption while still drinking at the weekend.
This behaviour and reduction in consumption at an overall level, does have the potential to impact for both the on and off-trade. Just over a quarter (26%) of alcohol drinkers claim they will reduce the amount of alcohol they purchase in the off-trade, while almost 4 in 10 (38%) claiming they will reduce the amount of alcohol they purchase in the on-trade, pre-Christmas.
Motivations for this reduction in alcohol consumption are primarily centred in two areas, saving money for Christmas and trying to be a little healthier in the run up to Christmas. Almost 2 in 3 (65%) claim they are reducing consumption to save money for Christmas, with almost 4 in 10 (37%) are doing so to be a little healthier before Christmas, aligned with 3 in 10 (30%) looking to lose some weight by reducing alcohol consumption.
For further information and more in-depth analysis on consumer behaviour in the run up to Christmas, please contact Robbie Clarke at Empathy Research.
