As non-alcoholic beverages are on the rise, Drizly’s head of consumer insights Liz Paquette joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss the bullish trend. She points out that non-alcohol purchases on the platform are up 62% in 2023, solidifying “a trend that’s here to stay” after the rapid growth.
Paquette believes continued socialization after the pandemic will continue to drive demand. Since drinking alcohol is often associated with hosting and celebrations, consumers want options. She highlights non-alcohol beer as the top performer in the broader non-alcohol category, while spirit options are also starting to become popular.
Paquette says consumers are looking for value, saying it’s “extremely important to a purchase.”
For more expert insights and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Yahoo Finance Live.
video transcript
[AUDIO LOGO]
Julie Hyman: As we approach New Year’s Eve, you may be checking your liquor shelves to stock up for parties, but a big trend in the refreshment space this year is non-alcohol beverages. There is increase. Drizly, the online ordering and delivery platform, is seeing its share of alcoholic beverages grow 62% from last year.
For more on this and what’s happening in this area, we turn to Liz Paquette, Head of Consumer Insights at Drizly Liz, good to see you. I want to delve deeper into non-drinking, but first I want to ask you about the bigger picture, what has surprised you the most this year? I don’t drink alcohol, I have noticed a big change. When you reflect on the year, what are the trends that surprise you the most?
Liz Paquette: Sure, and thank you so much for having me. So in terms of what has surprised me the most this year, non-health is definitely one of those that has turned from an upcoming trend to a trend that is here to stay. This is something that consumers will continue to look for when they are hosting, celebrating, celebrating everyday occasions with friends and family.
So last year, non-ALC sales were up about 34%, this year they’re up about 62%. And the thing that’s largely driving this, interestingly, is that non-ALC beer is actually the number one subcategory specifically within the non-ALC category. However, we are seeing a huge uptick in spirits this year with sales in that category up 162%. Hence it has been found that consumers are looking to make more mocktails at home, which is largely a trend that is in line with the overall consumption within the Bev ALC category as well. Consumers have continued to make cocktails at home even after the pandemic, as they have created this new behavior.
Josh Lipton: And Liz, I’m interested in consumers on your platform right now. How are they spending Liz? Are they– are they spending for more expensive beverages or turning to less expensive beverages?
Liz Packett: Yes, absolutely price is a big indicator for consumers this year and something that is extremely important to purchasing. We see the delivery of the Bev ALC category to remain strong this year. However, consumers are citing value for money as one of the main indicators of what is important to them when making a purchase, and again we are seeing this reflected in average unit prices as well.
So specifically in the spirits category, while it’s our number one best-selling category on the platform and we’ve actually seen some growth in the category year over year, we’re seeing the average unit price actually increase year over year by almost 3%, and we’re finding two variations within the price points that consumers are buying at.
So whereas in previous years, it was especially last year, it was over 40 that we had higher sales or a higher percentage of sales in this category. We are seeing consumers trading up a little bit more this year, particularly in the spirits category. And interestingly, in wine, we’re seeing that people are actually trading a little bit more in this category than in spirits, so the average unit price in wine in particular is fairly stable year over year, and we Consumers are looking to buy at higher prices overall.
Source: www.bing.com
