Alcohol consumption exceeds pre-pandemic level

Australians are back on the booze at higher levels than just before the COVID-19 pandemic, according to new data from pollster Roy Morgan.

Released last week, the Roy Morgan’s Alcohol Consumption Report showed the proportion of Australians who drink alcohol was at 67.6 per cent in the 12 months to March 2023, up by 1.3 per cent since the pre-pandemic period in the 12 months to March 2020 (66.3 per cent).

The number of Australians drinking wine, beer and spirits reached pandemic highs during 2021 as Australians were stuck at home for extended periods during the many lockdowns in different parts of the country.

However, consumption of RTDs (Ready-to-drink) has continued to increase and is now at a record high.

In the year to March 2023, 13,709,000 Australians (67.6 per cent) aged 18 and older consumed alcohol in an average four-week period, compared to 13,073,000 (66.3 per cent) in the year to March 2020 – an increase of more than 600,000.

The standout alcoholic beverages over the course of the pandemic have been RTDs, consumption of which nearly doubled from 2,138,000 people (10.8 per cent) pre-pandemic up to 4,208,000 people (20.8 per cent).

“A deeper look into the RTDs market shows the increasing popularity of many drinks in this category including vodka, tequila, white rum, dark rum, whisky, cognac and also newer entrants such as alcoholic/hard seltzers which began to hit the Australian market in significant numbers in 2019, just before the pandemic struck,” Roy Morgan chief executive officer Michele Levine said.

Australia’s most popular choice is still wine and the alcoholic drink has stretched its lead during the pandemic, increasing from 8,096,000 (41.0 per cent) pre-pandemic to 8,898,000 (43.9 per cent) in the 12 months to March 2023.

The spirits category had a clear “pandemic boost” of more than 1 million extra consumers, with 6,759,000 (33.8 per cent) drinking spirits in the 12 months to December 2021, but this boost has now receded. There are now 5,573,000 (27.5 per cent) of Australians drinking spirits, down slightly from 5,671,000 (28.7 per cent) before the pandemic.

In contrast to wine and RTDs, beer has not arrested a long-term decline. Although consumption of beer did increase during the early stages of the pandemic, this momentum quickly dissipated.

According to the report, under a third of Australians, 6,537,000 (32.2 per cent) consume beer, down significantly from the 7,413,000 (37.6 per cent) who did so in the 12 months to March 2020 just before the pandemic struck.

Ms Levine said the increasing consumption of alcohol over the first 18 months of the COVID-19 pandemic was one of the most prominent changes of behaviour at the time.

“The short-term pandemic related trend peaked in the 12 months to June 2021 with overall consumption of alcohol reaching a high of 69.7 per cent of Australian adults. Since then, consumption of alcohol has declined by 2.1 percentage points to 67.6 per cent of adults. However, this still represents an increase of 1.3 per cent points compared to the pre-pandemic period three years ago.

“The ‘shock’ of the pandemic disrupted a longer-term trend of declining alcohol consumption among the Australian population, which is now reasserting itself. In the year to June 2006, nearly three-quarters of Australian adults (73.5 per cent), drunk an alcoholic beverage in an average four weeks.

“Although the ‘big three’ alcohol types of wine, beer and spirits are all down on a year ago, the consumption of wine is still well above pre-pandemic levels.”