Happy hour is more popular than ever, according to data from beer-centric social media platform Untappd, which shows late afternoon and early evening check-ins have stolen share from nighttime drinking.
The share of all Untappd check-ins taking place between 7 p.m. and midnight declined by -5.2% between January 2018 and August 2022, Trace Smith, CEO of Untapp’s parent company NextGlass, wrote in the second edition of the new monthly newsletter, Untappd Insights.
So far this month, 46.8% of all Untappd check-ins were logged between 2-6:59 p.m., up from 42% in January 2018. Only 37.8% of check-ins were generated between 7 p.m. and midnight. Smith attributes the shift to the increased prevalence of remote work, which often means an earlier end to the workday for employees who no longer have to commute.
“I believe a large factor in this paradigm shift to earlier drinking is workdays starting and ending earlier with more work-from-home flexibility and permanent remote work,” Smith wrote. “Let’s be honest – it is much easier and socially acceptable now to wrap a Zoom meeting at 4:00, leave the basement office to head across the street to the neighborhood taproom, and manage the trickle of end-of-workday email from an iPhone than it was to start an early happy hour in 2019 when doing so meant leaving an office full of busy colleagues.”
In addition to the earlier daypart stealing share from the evening, that increase was not concentrated in the 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. hours, but rather spread throughout the whole five-hour block.
“Each one hour period beginning at 2:00, 3:00, 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. saw a meaningful increase in check-in share while each one-hour slot between 7:00 p.m. and midnight experienced a decrease in check-in share,” Smith wrote.
Untappd check-ins have been trending earlier since before the pandemic ushered in major swings in consumer behavior. However, check-ins during the 7 p.m.-midnight block spiked from March-May 2020, which “immediately shifted and the trend towards earlier drinking resumed and accelerated when the on-premise reopened in most geographies in late 2020,” Smith wrote.
Millennials’ Taproom Attendance Declines
Following a hunch that Millennial parents stopped visiting brewery taprooms with their children during the pandemic, Smith dug into demographic trends of Untappd check-ins geotagged at taprooms and found the 31-40 age group’s share had declined -5.5% between 2019 and 2022.
When the 41-50 age group is lumped in to include the eldest Millennials, the share of Untappd brewery check-ins declined -6.2%. Both younger and older users are absorbing the lost share.
“Taking check-in share from the 31-50 crowd are younger drinkers — particularly Gen Zers under 25 — and 50+ consumers,” Smith wrote. “Check-ins generated at taprooms in the U.S. by Boomers and older Gen Xers have increased by nearly three full percentage points between 2019 and this year.”
Check-ins from users aged 50 and older have gained the most share between 2019 and 2022, increasing +2.8%, followed by Untappd users between 21-26 (+2.7%).
Untappd users aged 31-35 recorded the largest share loss of brewery check-ins with a -2.9% decline, followed by 36- to 40-year-olds (-2.6%).
Share of both 26- to 30-year-olds (+0.7%) and 41- to 50-year-olds (-0.7%) was relatively flat.
Seasonal Creep Hits Pumpkin Beers
August has steadily gained share of pumpkin beer check-ins, indicating the autumnal-flavored beers are making their way into fridges and draft lines earlier than they used to – or at least that Untappd users are more comfortable acknowledging their presence before Labor Day.
In 2021, August accounted for 7.1% of all pumpkin beer check-ins, an increase of +2.3% since 2017.
“I feel confident declaring that the official start of pumpkin beer season is now August,” Smith wrote. “Pumpkin beers are clearly hitting the shelves and being consumed earlier in the year now than they were five years ago.”
Both September (+0.6%) and October (+2.7%) recorded share increases, while November (-1.8%), December (-0.1%) and January-July (-3.7%) posted share declines. September (26.9%) and October (39.9%) still hold the lion’s share of pumpkin beer check-ins.