Alcohol consumption is in decline
Alcohol consumption, in general, is in decline driven by a younger generation keen to moderate the amount they drink. The report found that 43% of regular wine drinkers surveyed in the UK were “actively seeking to reduce their alcohol consumption” with a particularly high percentage of those hailing from the under 35 age group (59%).
London is leading the pack in terms of region, with 62% of regular drinkers cutting down.
Zhou noted that “for now, volume declines are being mitigated by what one might call ‘core wine drinkers’, those aged 55 and over who account for 42% of total wine drinking population, are more likely to carry on with drinking, with only 33% of this age cohort moderating alcohol consumption”.
It was also mentioned that drinkers are mostly choosing to not drink at all, rather than switching to lower alcohol alternatives, despite growth in the latter category. This week, it was revealed that an extra 1.1 million people are planning to give up drinking at the start of 2019 as part of Dry January.
That said, low- and no- alcohol options are becoming more sought after. Over half of Brits surveyed by OnePoll said they have tried at least one non-alcoholic drink, with 52% agreeing with the statement that non alcoholic beer had become more socially acceptable in the past two years.
Brexit
Zhou noted: “While our data suggests that consumer attitudes to specific wine producing countries of origin are seemingly unaffected by the impending departure (or not) from the EU, the trade are reporting tough market conditions in the run up to Christmas, and of course there remains the potential for widespread disruption in supply chains, and currency exposure, if the country moves towards a disorderly ‘no deal’ Brexit scenario”.
In effort to gain some certainty for the industry, the WSTA launched its #NoToNoDeal campaign last month, telling Westminster “don’t bottle it” and leave Britain with a no deal Brexit, calling such a scenario “unacceptable” for its members.
Businesses are putting measures in place in an effort to avoid any Brexit-induced disruption. For example specialist wine retailer Majestic is stockpiling around £5 – £8m worth of booze in the run up to March 2019.
Group chief financial officer James Crawford said this would be on top of the company’s normal level and would be brought in shortly before the end of the financial year to mitigate any disruption to the supply chain.
Retail and managing director, Josh Lincoln, told db that other retailers would be impacted in the same way as Majestic, but the work the business had done over the last six months stood it in good stead.
“We’re in a position to be agile to whatever the market throws at us as well,” he said.
