Zero-alcohol awareness on the rise

More than three in four respondents to a recent Zero in Focus survey from pml Group/Ipsos MRBI have noticed advertising for zero-alcohol brands to a greater extent than they used to and more than half agree that advertising plays a role in influencing their choice of such drinks.

And a slightly larger percentage of females – 81% in the case of ABC1 females – now report noticing advertising for the category more than they did before – 78% versus 74%.

This peaks for females at 85% of 35-44 year-olds and for males at 80% among 18-24 year-olds. According to the report, advertising plays an influential role in decision-making for 57% of males between the ages of 18 and 24.

At 57%, males are more influenced by this advertising than females (48%) and this peaks among the 18-24 year-old age group at 66%.

57% of Tesco customers say they’re influenced by advertising for this category compared to 54% of Dunnes Stores customers and 51% of SuperValu customers.

The report found 38% of Dublin drinkers taking part in ‘Dry January’ this year, mostly males and mostly Dublin drinkers in the 18 to 24 year-old age bracket (47%), with the majority (44%) of Dublin drinkers being in that 18-24 age bracket.

 

Zero alcohol beer drinkers

Nearly half (49%) of males in the survey drink more zero-alcohol beer than they did a year ago. Over two-thirds of respondents say they’re more likely to try a zero-alcohol version of the brand of beer they already drink. This is the case for seven in 10 men and this figure is above 70% for all age groups up to 45+ where it drops considerably, to 51%.

Over six in 10 believe that the taste of zero-alcohol beer is the same as those containing alcohol. The percentage is higher among residents of north Dublin versus south Dublin and this belief is highest among the 35-44 age category (69%).

But 85% of 35-44 year-olds believe that the quality of zero-alcohol beers “has improved greatly in recent years”.

And 84% of females hold this opinion.

According to the pml survey 47% of 25-34 year-olds intend to replace some alcohol consumption with alcohol-free alternatives in 2021. Again, at 49%, it’s highest in the 18-24 age category.

Some 300 Dubliners aged from 18 to 54 were surveyed for the report.

Further details on the Zero in Focus study can be obtained by contacting info@pmlgroup.ie