Nearly a quarter of consumers (22%) surveyed by e-commerce alcohol delivery platform Drizly plan to reach for ready-to-drink canned cocktails (RTDs) the most this summer, a -17% decline versus 2022, according to Drizly’s fifth annual Consumer Trend Report.
However, the decline may not be due to shrinking interest in the trending category, but rather a “shift in perception” of when RTDs should be consumed, according to Drizly.
“While RTDs have seemingly followed the same blueprint as hard seltzer’s explosive trajectory over the past few years, the newness may be wearing off and consumers could be starting to see RTDs as a year-round staple and not just a warm weather go-to,” Drizly said in its report.
Prodege Decipher, a consumer insights company, conducted the survey of 1,001 U.S. adults on behalf of Drizly. All respondents were over the age of 21 and had purchased alcohol in the past 90 days.
Because RTDs speak to occasions outside the summer selling season, the segment has been able to record share growth in the off-season, including a +38% increase in share of Drizly sales volume January through March 2022 versus the same period in 2021, and +41% increase in share in October through December 2022 versus 2021.
RTDs still have a smaller share of sales on Drizly than the peak of hard seltzer, but the segment’s growth has been more sustainable than hard seltzers. Hard seltzers grew share of Drizly sales +278% from 2018 to 2020, topping out at 3.4% share of total sales volume, followed by two years of declines to 2.8% share in 2022. Comparatively, the RTD segment increased share +400% in its initial two-year major growth period (2019 to 2021), to 2% share, and has continued to gain share in the years following.
“The continued growth potentially may be due to the diversification of the RTD category versus hard seltzer, with so many subcategories – from margarita and mojito RTDs, to martini, cosmopolitan and mixed drink RTDs,” Drizly wrote.
Consumers’ interest in hard seltzers as the summer drink of choice also declined by -4%, to 21%, this year versus 2022, as well as “hard alternatives” such as hard lemonade or hard iced tea (-2%, to 14%). More than a third of consumers (34%) said they would choose light liquor the most this summer, a +2% increase year-over-year (YoY). White wine (+28%) and light lager (+23%) also have growing interest this summer, both increasing +2% YoY.
Non-alcoholic (NA) beer, wine and spirits continue to gain interest from Drizly consumers, particularly with younger legal-drinking-age (LDA) consumers. Nearly a quarter of Gen Z (23%) and millennial (24%) respondents said they are drinking NA products “often,” versus 6% of Gen X and 1% of boomers. Sales volume for products across the total NA category (including beer, wine and spirits) grew +29% on Drizly in 2022 versus 2021.
The majority of Drizly consumers (39%) said they try NA products “to see if they like it,” followed by 31% for health-related reasons and 35% because they “cannot drink alcohol.” Nearly half of respondents (45%) said they are “extremely likely or likely” to do a month-long dry challenge in the future, such as Dry January or Sober October.
Fourteen percent of male respondents said they are drinking NA beer, wine or spirits often or periodically, versus 9% of female respondents. Male respondents were also more likely to be “sober curious” (12%) versus women (8%).
Beer remains the preferred NA beverage of choice on Drizly, chosen by 30% of respondents, followed by NA RTDs (20%), NA wine (17%) and NA spirits (10%). Seventeen percent of respondents said they are the “most curious” to try NA RTDs out of all NA offerings, followed by NA wine (14%), beer (12%) and spirits (10%). About one-in-five Gen Z (21%) and millennial (22%) respondents said they are the most curious to try NA wine, while Gen X (15%) and boomers (17%) were the most curious about NA RTDs.
Inflation May Impact Future On-Premise Visits
While there has been little evidence of significant trade down in off-premise channels due to inflation, the on-premise may not be so lucky, according to Drizly. About one-in-five (22%) of respondents said they plan to drink more at home in 2023 compared to how much they did in 2022, citing inflationary pressures and on-premise prices. Millennials are expected to skip bars and restaurants the most this year, with one-third of millennial respondents planning to drink from home more versus 2022.
More than a quarter of respondents (28%) said they have a home bar set up, with the majority (63%) restocking their home bars at least once a month. Nearly one-in-five (19%) of respondents said they plan to “give their bartending skills a whirl” and make more mixed drinks at home in 2023 versus 2022.
Women were more likely to be influenced by inflation, with 60% of female respondents saying increased pricing is affecting how often they visit the on-premise and how much they order when at bars and restaurants, versus 50% of men.
While people may be choosing to drink more at home to save money, they’re not skimping out on the products they’re buying for those at-home occasions. Nearly half (45%) of respondents said they are buying more expensive or premium beer, wine or spirits at home versus the 34% who said they’ll spend more at bars and restaurants.
About a quarter of respondents (26%) said they are both spending less at bars and restaurants and more on drinks at home, while 22% are “proactively shopping for deals.” Forty-six percent of female respondents said they spend more on premium bev-alc, versus 42% of male respondents.
Consumers Most Influenced by Recommendations and Price to Try New Brands
Respondents were also asked to share what influences their decisions when purchasing new bev-alc brands. Recommendations from friends or family were the most influential, chosen by 57% of respondents, followed by pricing (37%). Other effective influences include recommendations from bartenders (25%), customer reviews (24%), labels that stand out (23%) and recommendations by store employees (22%). Less influential were ads on social media (14%), expert reviews (13%), influencers (8%) and celebrity endorsements (6%).
Packaging is also highly influential with younger LDAs. The majority of Gen Z respondents (55%) said they are influenced by unique packaging, followed by sustainable packaging (24%). Nearly a quarter of Gen Z respondents (23%) said they’d be willing to splurge on a premium product if it has a fancy bottle design or unique packaging. Nearly a third of Gen Z respondents (32%) said a lack of ingredient transparency would deter them from making a purchase.
Two-in-five millennial consumers said they were highly influenced by whether a product was local, small or family-owned, while 22% said they would be deterred from buying a product if it didn’t “align with their values.”