29% of Scottish consumers are semi-regular drinkers of low and no alcohol products up from 27% in 2020, the fourth annual online YouGov study commissioned by the Portman Group has found.
Despite COVID-19 restrictions, the most popular reason for consumers in Scotland who have tried low and no alcohol to drink these products continues to be ‘being able to drive home from social events’ (chosen by 37% of respondents).
Reducing the possibility of health concerns or current medical reasons were also cited by 23% of consumers. The other main reason is to socialise without drinking excessively with 12% of respondents, whilst 9% explicitly stated they currently alternated low and no products with regular strength alcohol to moderate their overall consumption.
Furthermore, the survey shows that over a quarter (27%) of those in Scotland who have tried low and no alcohol say that their subsequent weekly alcohol has decreased since they first tried it.
These results indicate that low and no alcohol could be an effective tool for people looking to moderate drinking, often whilst at home with COVID-19 remaining an ongoing concern.
This is part of a wider UK trend towards low and no, with almost one in three (32%) UK drinkers now ‘semi-regularly’ consuming low and no alcohol products compared to one in four (25%) in 2020.
It should be noted that alcohol drinkers are the main buyers of non-alcoholic products using them as alternatives to alcohol. Well over half (58%) of UK non-drinkers have never even tried a low/no product and just 14% are semi-regular* consumers.
In response to the figures, Matt Lambert, CEO of the Portman Group – the alcohol social responsibility body and marketing regulator – said: “As these positive findings show, Scotland is increasingly choosing low and no alcohol products, a trend being witnessed across the UK.
“There has been a big increase in drinking low and no during the pandemic, indicating that many UK drinkers have looked to moderate their alcohol consumption by swapping with non-alcoholic options.
“These figures show the fruits of industry innovation and investment over the past decade to provide consumers with an array of lower alcohol options.”
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. The 2021 survey was conducted by YouGov on behalf of the Portman Group. Fieldwork was undertaken on 9th-10th December 2021 and involved a total sample size of 2,079 adults, of which 176 were from Scotland.
The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).
In the 2020 survey, the total sample size was 2100 adults, of which 189 were from Scotland. Fieldwork was undertaken between 14th – 15th December 2020. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 18+).