Demographically, Gen Z is legal drinking age consumers 21 to 25 years old. “Gen Z is the first generation of true digital natives,” says Liz Paquette, Drizly’s head of consumer insights. “They are used to shopping online for anything and everything, so as they become 21 and over, they seek the ease and convenience of online shopping and delivery even more so than previous generations.”
They’re the most racially and ethnically diverse generation in U.S. history, and they’re on track to be the best-educated generation, too. These digitally savvy buyers prefer to stand out rather than fit in—both of which influence alcohol purchasing decisions.
Compared to other generations, here’s Gen Z’s purchases on Drizly:
- Liquor: 48 percent (vs. 45 percent)
- Wine: 28 percent (vs. 38 percent)
- Beer: 21 percent (vs. 15 percent)
- Extras: 3 percent (vs. 2 percent)
Light and fruity flavors are prefered when Gen Z makes alcohol purchasing decisions, as are lower sugar and calorie count beer alternatives. In fact, Gen Z is the key driver in ready-to-drink cocktail purchases on Drizly, which, at eight percent share of liquor sales, is rising to compete with hard seltzer.
When it comes to liquor, Gen Z over-indexes on soju (26 percent share), tequila (eight percent share), and rum (seven percent share).
Wine has the biggest gap on Drizly between Gen Z purchasers and people in other generations. Gen Z only accounted for a three percent share of total wine sales on Drizly in the past year. There are some wine subcategories Gen Z over-indexes on, however, including wine spritzers (seven percent), Champagne and sparkling wines (five percent), and rosé (five percent).
“For this youngest generation, we’ve seen a lower spend overall and more of an appetite for ‘value’ wines,” says Rene Brown, a wine educator at Napa’s Sequoia Grove Winery. “Since these consumers are still in the first stages of their wine journey, they’re not quite ready to commit to more expensive wines and multiple bottles (as opposed to more experienced, older consumers). We’re also noticing the Gen Z contingent preferring fresher wines like rosé and sauvignon blanc.”
The top brands purchased by Gen Z on Drizly tracks with the generation’s preferred categories and subcategories. White Claw, Don Julio, Truly, Espolòn and Hennessy all ran higher among Gen Z purchasers.