Sobering Consumer Demand Insights Following Beer Day

U.K. Shoppers Demonstrate Preference for Non-Alcoholic Beverages YOY

Celebrations for International Beer Day in Britain might look a bit different this year as U.K. shoppers increasingly illustrate a clear preference for non-alcoholic beverages. According to new data from ecommerce accelerator, Pattern, non-alcoholic beverages saw an 85.06% increase in demand compared to a 38.29% increase for alcoholic beverages overall. 

Why it matters: Since 2007, International Beer Day has been a popular event celebrating beer around the world every year on the first Friday in August. However, with demand for non-alcoholic beverages on the rise, retailers may need to adjust their marketing and inventory to accommodate consumers’ changing tastes. 

What we’re seeing: Pattern analysed search demand across Amazon Marketplace U.K. for different alcoholic and non-alcoholic products from 2022 – present day to better understand changes in consumer demand. Here’s how demand for the most popular alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages has changed year over year: 

• Beer
  • Overall, demand for beer increased by 86.20% from 2022 – 2023
    • Draft Beer +653.12%
    • Stout Beer +150.16%
    • Pale Ale +95.33%

• Alcoholic Beverages
  • Overall, demand for alcoholic beverages decreased by 21.60% from 2022 – 2023
    • Scotch -6.47%
    • Hard Seltzer -10%
    • Tequila -10.39%

• Non-Alcoholic Beverages
  • Overall, demand for non-alcoholic beverages increased by 85.06% from 2022 – 2023
    • Non-Alcoholic Wine +262.27%
    • Non-Alcoholic Rum +214.48%
    • Non-Alcoholic Whiskey +151.17%

What about inflation? Regardless of their preference for alcoholic or non-alcoholic beverages, consumers will be happy to hear that inflation has made a minimal impact on the cost of beer, wine, spirits, and non-alcoholic drinks. Here’s how inflation impacted the price of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages year over year: 

• 2022 – 2023
  • The following items are the products that experienced the highest rate of inflation year over year: 
    • Pale Ale +21.14%
    • Gin +9.18%
    • Rum +6.88%
    • Porter +5.87%
    • Beer +5.34%
  • The following items are the products that experienced inflation reversal year over year: 
    • Stout Beer -18.86%
    • Non-Alcoholic Wine -3.47%
    • Hard Seltzer -2.84%
    • Non-Alcoholic Gin -1.70%
    • Non-Alcoholic Beer -0.63%

The takeaway: Despite International Beer Day being a holiday dedicated to celebrating everything beer, U.K. consumers have shown a clear preference for non-alcoholic alternatives year over year. No matter how consumers plan to quench their thirst, they can do so without worrying about the added strain that inflation might place on their wallets. Depending on what they purchase, consumers may even enjoy reduced pricing on their favourite items. 

• Pattern’s data science team analysed both consumer demand (or the number of people online shopping for a given item) and pricing data for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages on Amazon Marketplace U.K. for every day of 2022 and 2023 so far to better understand shopping behaviours and how inflation has impacted the price of the most popular beverages over the past year. If you’d like to leverage insights like these to drive your ecommerce strategy forward, don’t hesitate to reach out to our team for more information.