UK drinkers increasingly choose low and no alcohol products all year round and not just for Dry January, the fourth annual online study YouGov commissioned by the Portman Group has found.
Almost one in three (32 per cent) UK drinkers now ‘semi-regularly’ consume low and no alcohol products compared to one in four (25 per cent) in 2020. Furthermore, a fifth (20 per cent) of those who have tried low and no alcohol say they are more likely to drink these products now compared to a year ago, almost double the number saying this in last year’s survey (11 per cent).
Despite COVID-19 restrictions, the most popular reason for consumers who have tried low and no alcohol to drink these products continues to be ‘being able to drive home from social events’ (chosen by 33 per cent of respondents). Reducing the possibility of health concerns or current medical reasons were also cited by 22 per cent of consumers. The other main reason is to socialise without drinking excessively with 20 per cent of respondents, whilst 12 per cent explicitly stated they currently alternated low and no products with regular strength alcohol to moderate their overall consumption.
Furthermore, the survey shows that over a quarter (26 per cent) of those who have tried low and no alcohol say that their subsequent weekly alcohol has decreased since they first tried it. These results indicate that low and no alcohol could be an effective tool for people looking to moderate drinking, often whilst at home with COVID-19 remaining an ongoing concern.
It should be noted that alcohol drinkers are the main buyers of non-alcoholic products using them as alternatives to alcohol. Well over half (58 per cent) of non-drinkers have never even tried a low/no product and just 14 per cent are semi-regular consumers.
Across the UK there were increases in the number of low and no consumers. Welsh drinkers top the chart as most likely to be semi-regular low/no drinkers, with a large jump to a third (36 per cent) of respondents compared to less than a quarter (22 per cent) in 2020. English consumers come in at 32 per cent up from 25 per cent. 29 per cent of Scottish consumers are semi-regular drinkers, up from 27 per cent.
In response to the figures, Matt Lambert, CEO of the Portman Group – the alcohol social responsibility body and marketing regulator said, “As these positive findings show, there has been a big increase in drinking low and no during the pandemic, indicating that many UK drinkers have looked to moderate their alcohol consumption by swapping with non-alcoholic options. These figures show the fruits of large industry innovation and investment into the sector over the past decade to provide consumers with an array of lower alcohol options.”