VIEWS From THE WealthY CONSUMER

Release date: June 2022

THE SAMPLE - DRINKING TRENDS - BUYING TRENDS - BRAND AWARENESS

This report updates purchasing trends and sentiments on alcoholic drinks. The survey was completed by 100 respondents in each of the UK, US and China in April 2022, and was balanced 46:54 in terms of male:female and 55:45 for under-45s vs over-45s. When converted to USD, the sample had a high median HHI of almost $475,000.

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95% OF UK, US and CHINESE WEALTHY INDIVIDUALS DRINK ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES

Fig. 1 - “How often do you drink alcohol, either at home or in bars/restaurants?””

Drinking is popular among affluent/HNWIs, with the significant majority drinking at least on a monthly basis and only 5% saying that they are teetotal. Indeed, of the 100 Chinese respondents, none said that they completely abstained from drinking. The most common frequency in all three countries is to drink a few times a week, with 56% of Chinese doing so and falling to 38% of Americans. Only around one in ten say that they drink every day, while around a quarter do so once or twice and week.

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DRINKING HAS RISEN SINCE THE OUTBREAK OF COVID-19

Fig. 2 “Since the start of the pandemic, I have been drinking […] at home/out of home than I did before.”

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Drinking at home likely to rise in popularity

Fig. 3 “In the future, I think I will drink […] at home/out of home than I do now.”

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Still wine is the most popular drink among affluent/HNWIs

Fig. 4 “How often do you buy the following types of alcoholic drinks, for drinking at home?”

Beer in particular has seen a proliferation of lower/non-alcoholic variants in recent years which have proved popular. Low/no-alcohol drinks have seen strong growth over the past decade as the need for healthier lifestyles has become more commonplace. One example of this is Diageo’s new summer-long World Duty Free store at Heathrow Terminal 5 which will champion alcohol-free drinks such as its new Tanqueray 0.0%. Seven in ten affluent/HNWIs now buy these drinks in the different alcohol categories, with 36% doing so at least a few times a month. Under-45s are much more likely than their older counterparts to be embracing them, with 83% buying vs 52% of over-45s.

AMERICAN WEALTHY INDIVIDUALS LESS INCLINED TO ORDER LUXURY FOOD & WINE ONLINE.

Fig. 5 “What is your preferred way of buying luxury goods in food and drink? Please drag the slider to identify your appropriate ratio between online and in store.” [median ratios]

38% of affluent/HNWIs have 25+ bottle wine collections

Fig. 6 “Approximately how many bottles of wine (both sparkling and still) do you currently own, either at home or in a off-site cellar?”

Overall, only 9% say that they have no bottles of wine either at home or in a cellar. This rises to 19% of Americans but stood at zero in China. Just under a third (31%) say that they have 1-10 bottles in storage, while around another quarter in each country have 11-25 bottles. These relatively small collections will almost certainly be kept at home rather than off-site.

Brits are the most serious collectors, with half (49%) having more than 25 bottles in storage vs 35% of Chinese and 29% of Americans. Men are also significantly more likely than women to be collectors (44% vs 32%), while the two age cohorts (under/over-45) are broadly equal with around two in five having a wine collection of more than 25 bottles. 4% of the sample say they have more than 100 bottles, a collection which may necessitate some off-site storage.

18% invest in alcoholic drinks

Almost one in five affluent/HNWIs say that they invest in alcoholic drinks, for example buying wine en primeur. This rises to 30% of the affluent Chinese but falls back to just 8% of Americans. This is at the same level as classic car investment, but some way behind other categories such as jewellery and watches (62%) and stones/minerals such as gold (53%). Wines and whiskies are the most popular drinks for investors, with Moutai investment also prevalent in China.

Around a quarter of Chinese drinkers buy alcoholic drinks in the highest tiers

A significant share of affluent/HNW drinkers are willing to spend large amounts on bottles of wine and spirits when drinking at home. In China, a third spend more than RMB 1,500 (equivalent of £175+) on wines, rising to around 40% for spirits. Furthermore, around a third of these drinkers spend between RMB 750-1,500 on wines and spirits for drinking at home. That 30% of wealthy Chinese individuals invest in alcoholic drinks helps to explain the elevated spend levels in China.  

Fig. 7 “Thinking specifically about wine and spirits/liqueurs, how much do you typically spend per bottle for drinking at home?” [China]

These levels are higher than in the UK where only around one in ten spend more than £100 per bottle, and the US where around one in five spend over $100. In the UK, £25-50 is the most popular price tier overall and is what around half of British drinkers spend on sparkling wine and spirits. Still wine fares less well at the higher price tiers and only 39% of British still wine drinkers go above £25 per bottle, with almost two thirds staying under this price.

Fig. 8 “Thinking specifically about wine and spirits/liqueurs, how much do you typically spend per bottle for drinking at home?” [UK]

Meanwhile, American drinkers are most likely to spend higher amounts on dark spirits such as whiskies and Cognac, with two thirds typically spending over $25 per bottle. This compares to around 40% for white spirits and wines, with these drinkers being more likely to buy in the $25-50 price bracket instead.

Fig. 9 “Thinking specifically about wine and spirits/liqueurs, how much do you typically spend per bottle for drinking at home?” [US]

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Hennessy leads the way in alcohol

Unlike other markets such as hard luxury and automotive, premium alcohol is less strongly branded. Indeed, many respondents are more likely to cite a type of drink such as Champagne or Cognac rather than a specific company. Focusing specifically on spirits and liqueurs, Hennessy and Rémy Martin garner a reasonable number of mentions, though this falls well behind the leaders in other luxury categories. Cognac and whiskies are among the most cited, with a number of brands making the leading list and a few other Glens falling just outside of the most cited.

Fig. 10 “Specifically thinking about luxury spirits or liqueurs, which is the first brand which comes to mind?” [most selected]

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ABOUT ALTIANT

Altiant is a specialised fieldwork company which enables large scale, global research among affluent consumers/High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs) in 15+ countries worldwide.

For more information on this study or any other research requirements, please contact us at reports@altiant.com.

By servicing dozens of the world’s top luxury and wealth brands, Altiant helps renowned brands and their research agencies to answer critical questions among this very hard-to-reach demographic. We ensure that all of our survey respondents are genuinely affluent by having their identities verified and wealth levels validated.

Altiant is a corporate member of ESOMAR, the World’s leading association for standards & Ethics within market research. Altiant adheres to, and abids by their strict guidelines governing the best practice in the industry.

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Contributors

Chris Wisson, Knowledge Director

Ivan Murtov, Senior Project Manager

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