The percentage of Gen Z legal drinking age (LDA+) consumers that drink alcohol is now greater than that of baby boomers, according to new survey data from IWSR.
The drinking rate among Gen Z legal drinking age (LDA+) consumers across 15 key markets has stabilised at 74%, up from 66% three years ago, according to the latest IWSR Bevtract survey.
This compares with the total adult population drinking rate of 76%, and 71% for boomers. The latter cohort registered “significant declines across all consumption metrics”, and now had “the lowest drinking rate of any generation”, IWSR said.
They also reported the smallest number of drinking occasions of any generational cohort and reported consuming the smallest number of drinks when they do drink – just 2.6 drinks per occasion.
Millennials, meanwhile, reported the highest beverage alcohol participation rate of any generation at 81%. Gen X ranked second highest with an average of 77%.
In the UK, the overall beverage alcohol participation rate was 82%, roughly flat from three years ago, IWSR said. Participation among the Gen Z LDA+ population rose to 76%, up from 66% three years ago.
The data challenges the widely held belief that young people are to blame for falling alcohol sales globally.
“The narrative that Gen Z is the generation of moderation is now conclusively debunked,” said IWSR managing director Marten Lodewijks. “The evidence demonstrates that Gen Z consumers enjoy drinking at roughly the same levels as the rest of society.”
Meanwhile, drinking among boomers had been “tailing off for several years”, said Lodewijks.
“These latest Bevtrac results, however, show bigger than expected drops in boomer drinking across all major metrics,” he said. “If this trend continues, it may actually be the boomers, not Gen Z, who deserve the title ‘generation of moderation’.”
While drinking rates among Gen Z LDA+ consumers were no longer significantly different to the wider population, their habits differed from those of older cohorts, IWSR said.
Gen Z LDA+ drinkers were more likely to drink cocktails than any other generation, with 84% of the cohort consuming these drinks in the past six months, it noted.
Meanwhile, Gen Z LDA+ drinkers were more likely drink with their friends, with nearly a fifth (18%) reporting they were with five or more people on their consumption occasion.
Gen Z were also more likely to heed government health guidance on alcohol than other generations, IWSR added.
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