Data from research firm Roy Morgan has highlighted the continued decline of beer consumption in Australia.
The data highlights the difference the seasons make to beer consumption in the country, with peaks coming in the summer season, followed by winter season troughs. The data also shows that more consumers turn to red and fortified wines as the temperature drop rather than beer.
Over the past 10 years, the average proportion of Australians drinking beer during the July-September quarter is 37.6 per cent, compared with a long-term average of 43 per cent for the January-March quarter.
“Unlike beer-drinkers in the northern hemisphere, Australians do not tend to see beer as a winter beverage. So it’s no surprise that the proportion of us drinking it during the cool July-September quarter falls, only to peak again in the warm January-March quarter every year,” said Andrew Price general manager of consumer products with Roy Morgan Research.
“Of course, this doesn’t mean that so-called ‘winter beers’ aren’t available here, but it does suggest that marketers wishing to overcome our resistance to (or at least, inability to process) the concept have their work cut out for them.
“Along with the corresponding increases in the proportion of us drinking red and fortified wines during the July-September quarter, our findings also reveal that Aussie adults are much more inclined to drink hot chocolate at this time of year than any other quarter. One has to wonder, therefore, why no liquor brands have yet introduced a pre-prepared alcoholic hot chocolate into the market.”
