Bottle of whiskey in hand in store
South Africans have a very big drinking culture, especially during the festive season. Trade Intelligence found that alcohol spending averages about R414 million per day, with the weekly average nearly tripling between Christmas and New Year.
A report by Eighty20 Consulting found that this week-long spending spike represents a critical commercial window in which understanding consumer behaviour, preferences, and purchasing patterns can separate market leaders from laggards.
According to the World Health Organization, the world average consumption of alcohol is about 5.5 litres per person per year, with South Africa above the global mean at 7.8 litres, but below some European countries like Romania (17.1 litres) or Czechia (13.7 litres).
When the denominator is limited to drinkers only, South Africa ranks fifth globally, with an average of about 30 litres per drinker annually.
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Alcoholic drink loved the most
The report released earlier in the week surveyed 20 000 people and used several other datasets to figure out the preferences of South African alcohol consumption.
It was found that 47% of adults consumed some form of alcohol in the past month, with beer as the top choice, particularly among men. 68% of weekly beer consumers were found to be male.
“In terms of festive celebrations, Eighty20 used the GWI data, courtesy of YOUKNOW Technologies, which finds that for internet-enabled South Africans, wine is the top festive season choice, followed by cider and then spirits,” said Andrew Fulton, Director at Eighty20.
Areas where alcoholic drinkers are found
The report revealed that alcohol use is more prevalent in urban areas than rural areas, with roughly 10 more people drinking in metros than in rural areas.
“Another dataset, Roots, which measures a wealthier, urban sample unlike the nationally representative sample MAPS uses, supports this finding, and counts even more drinkers,” said Fulton.
Nearly 80% of men and roughly 70% of women in metropolitan areas say they drink alcohol.
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Single people drink more
Findings revealed that single people and those who live together are more likely to drink than their married counterparts.
Younger generations, Generation X and particularly Generation Y, are more likely to drink than Baby Boomers (at least 50% more likely).
Age also influences alcohol choice: the average sorghum or fortified wine drinker is around 41 years old, while alcoholic energy drinks attract a younger demographic, with the average consumer roughly six years younger.
The non-alcoholic market
“Whether it is enjoying the refreshing taste of beer without the effects of alcohol, or alternating a non-alcoholic option when you are out drinking, there are close to a million people consuming non-alcoholic beer, cider or gin category in any given week, rising from about 666 000 a year ago,” adds Fulton.
The report found that fewer than 5% of these consumers abstain from alcohol altogether, and 57% are female.
This might highlight why non-alcoholic cider is much more popular than the beer equivalent. In terms of demographics, the category skews to urban and metro consumers, young singles, couples, Gen Z and Gauteng females.
F1 fans with Heineken
The report revealed that F1 fans would have noticed the extensive Heineken 0.0 advertising campaigns featuring previous World Champion Max Verstappen as a celebrity endorser.
“While Heineken 0.0 is the most popular global brand, homegrown Castle Free, which benefited from the alcohol ban during Covid-19 and was producing 2 million bottles a month in 2021, is rapidly gaining market share locally,” said Fulton.
“Understanding how alcohol consumption patterns evolve across different demographics enables retailers and brands to identify growth opportunities in challenging markets.”
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