Even as more states reopen and allow for some form of on-premise consumption, Covid cases continue to expand — both among the unvaccinated and among those who were vaccinated. That’s bad news for on-premise retailers, because a new study of consumer insights conducted by Drizly before the surge found that 70% of respondents said they are planning to continue to drink less away from home, and 30% are poised to do so more at home… for the remainder of the year, at least.
Other key findings from the study:
In a finding that may spell bad news for new-product launches, 72% of current Drizly users and 50% of non-Drizly users anticipate at least 50% of their alcohol shopping will take place online, vs. in store, in the next year. For context, research conducted only last year found that 45% of consumers of legal drinking age questioned the legality of buying alcohol online. The past four months have both steepened the education and trial curves, with new users growing up to 1700% above baseline on Drizly since March of 2020.
Cocktail culture is taking hold at home – More than half (52%) of those surveyed said they have made more cocktails at home during the past three months, and 54% predict that they’ll keep mixing things up more in their kitchens and backyards this summer and beyond. Indeed, sales of mixers, bitters and other cocktail ingredients have risen sharply on Drizly since mid-March, with mixers, syrups and bitters becoming the fastest growing category on Drizly.
Hard seltzer, though now mainstream, is still dynamic – While a smaller share of imbibers plan affirmatively to drink hard seltzer this year than last year (38% vs. 52%). This is counter to the sales trends we continue to see but one could wonder whether it is a crack in the armor of seltzer. However, another 31% say they may drink seltzer. We can expect at least with existing converts buying in larger volumes and high-profile newbies like Bud Light Seltzer and Corona Seltzer entering the scene that there is still likely an expansion of the category ahead. This has played out thus far on Drizly, where hard seltzer sales are up on Drizly at 3.67% of total platform sales as of June 1, 2020, compared to 3.08% at the beginning of June in 2019. Hard seltzer drinkers and those planning to try will most likely do so at the expense of cider, hard lemonade and wine.
Gen Z is thirsty for variety and education – More than half (52%) of Gen Z members surveyed have tried at least one new alcohol brand since mid-March, outpacing the adventurous tendencies of Millennials, Gen Xers and Boomers. What’s more, Gen Z proved thirstiest for knowledge about adult beverages, topping their older cohorts in wanting more information about cocktail craft (48%), white wine (31%) and emerging spirits like Mezcal and Soju.