Hint: It’s not Millennials, Gex-Xers or Baby Boomers.
Surprisingly enough, a new study by Drizly found digitally native Gen Z-ers purchase alcohol from local liquor stores more often than their millennial, Gen X and baby boomer counterparts.
Gen Z also ranks first when it comes to interest in drinking trends, suggesting that their purchasing behavior today may well be a crystal ball for how beer, wine and spirits consumption will look tomorrow.
Drizly’s findings came from a survey of over 13,600 Americans of legal drinking age conducted from April-June 2019.
Among key findings:
Everyone wants education – When it comes to alcohol shopping, knowledge is power. 94% of Gen Z respondents, 71% of millennial respondents and 61% of Gen X/Above respondents all crave more knowledge about wine to inform their purchase decisions.
Gen Z is most interested in learning more about beer, at 47% besting Millennials (38%) and Gen X/Above (29%),suggesting that craft beer’s future could be brighter than currently anticipated, and/or that the recent proliferation in styles has some suds lovers scratching their heads.
How trends are born – As suppliers innovate and introduce new products at a torrid pace, they have a welcome audience in Gen Z, 49% of whom say they have an interest in new drink trends, followed by Millennials (40%), and Gen X/Above (31%), respectively.
Category habits get sticky – Interest in what may be hot tomorrow isn’t seriously impacting what we’re buying today. Drizly found that almost 60% of respondents always or most of the time drink the same type of alcohol, and only 5% are open to regularly trying something new. The finding holds across generations, as Gen Z and Millennials are only slightly more likely to try something new on a regular basis (6%) and Gen X/Above (4%).
Online shopping: Still taking shape – Even as online shopping becomes more the norm across major consumer goods categories, digital alcohol shopping is still a work in progress. 50% of respondents who have bought alcohol online still visit local retailers to make the majority of their purchases. 62% of those who purchase from a retailer for the first time ever using the Drizly app say they are likely to shop the same retailer again in-store.
“We’re beginning to see a clearer picture of Gen Z consumers and how they will and won’t change the alcohol industry, from shopping preferences to consumption habits,” said Liz Paquette, Head of Consumer Insights at Drizly. “Like other generations, Gen Z consumers typically stick within the same category across the board, remaining beer drinkers if that is what they’re most familiar with, for example.
“However, within their preferred category, Gen Z is the generation that is most interested in trying new drinks and learning more about wine in particular. This desire for education provides a window of opportunity for retailers to innovate and educate customers on wine, spirits and beer, whether in person or digitally.”
Drizly connects consumers directly with local retailers in their market, providing a digital marketplace to shop local retailer inventories without having to go in-store. To shop North America’s largest selection of beer, wine and spirits, visit drizly.com or download the Drizly app.