Gen Z isn't sober, just late | 74% drank in the past six months, up from 66% three years ago
TL;DR
Fresh IWSR data shows 74% of Gen Z drank alcohol in the past six months, up from 66% three years ago, closing on the overall adult rate of 76%. Analysts read it as a delayed onset of drinking rather than sobriety. By comparison: Millennials 81%, Gen X 77%, Boomers 71%.
Fresh data from the IWSR shows 74% of Gen Z drank alcohol in the past six months, well above the 66% reading from three years ago and closing in on the overall adult rate of 76%. Analysts read this as delayed rather than avoided drinking — pandemic lockdowns cut off social occasions, then economic pressure and health concerns kept the first adult drink a few years later than it used to arrive.
Cross-generational: Millennials 81%, Gen X 77%, Boomers 71%. Gen Z is now the generation climbing back up. Their preferences also differ — heavy on cocktails and group-occasion consumption, biased toward premium, higher-priced but more approachable ready-to-drink products, moderate on volume but strict on quality.
The "Gen Z is going sober" narrative doesn't hold. What's actually happening is that the category's entry age has shifted a few years later, and it comes with a completely different shopping list.
via Business Insider
Cross-generational: Millennials 81%, Gen X 77%, Boomers 71%. Gen Z is now the generation climbing back up. Their preferences also differ — heavy on cocktails and group-occasion consumption, biased toward premium, higher-priced but more approachable ready-to-drink products, moderate on volume but strict on quality.
The "Gen Z is going sober" narrative doesn't hold. What's actually happening is that the category's entry age has shifted a few years later, and it comes with a completely different shopping list.
via Business Insider
