Seven out of 10 Irish consumers buy multipacks of beer or cider, according to the latest results from Empathy Research. Of 981 participants, more men (70%) than women (60%) said that they buy beer and cider in a multipack format. Interestingly, of the age groups it was the middle-aged group that were most likely to buy multipacks, with almost three-quarters (74%) of 35-44 year olds buying them. This is much higher than all the other age groups; 18-24 (69%), 25-34 (64%) and 45+ (61%).
Just one fifth of multipack buyers prefer to buy 8-pack cans of beer/cider, while 17% buy 6-pack cans, another 17% buy 20-pack bottles and 15% buy 24-pack bottles. Women’s favourite type of multipack format was 6-pack cans of beer or cider (20%), while just 15% of men would buy the same size. The younger 18-24 year group was also fond of the 6 packs, with 23% preferring them, as opposed to 19% of those aged 25-34, 13% of 35-44 and 17% of those aged 45+.
While 24-pack bottles of beer or ciders are more popular amongst men (18% vs. 12% women), one fifth of 25-34 year olds prefer to buy 24-pack bottles. Other age groups however, did not find the 24-pack as alluring; 18-24 (12%), 25-34 (16%) and 45+ (14%). A tenth of shoppers who buy beer/cider multipacks prefer to buy 24-pack cans. Again the larger pack size is more popular amongst men (14%) than women (8%) but also with those with children living at home (15%) than those without (7%). A total of 15% of 45+ year olds prefer to buy 24-pack cans of beer/cider, which is higher than all the other age groups; 18-24 (8%), 25-34 (8%) and 35-44 (7%).
Almost six out of 10 survey respondents say that price is their number one priority when buying multipacks of beer. Those aged 18-24 (66%) and 35-44 (62%) year olds agreed price was a priority compared to those aged 25-34 (53%) and 45+ (56%). Over a third (35%) of those who buy multipacks look for brands when buying multi packs of beer or cider and this was highest amongst 25-34 (37%) and 45+ (38%) year olds compared to 18-24 (29%) and 35-44 (30%) year olds.
When it comes to switching beer or cider multipack brand, 67% said they would if a multi pack on a rival brand was available for a cheaper price. Significantly more men (70%) were of this opinion compared to their female counterparts (63%). Age-wise, marginally more 25-34 (71%) and 35-44 (74%) year olds are also likely to switch brands for a cheaper price than 18-24 (67%) and 45+ (61%) year olds.
When asked if they agreed with the statement, “I think supermarkets run too many promotions on multi packs of beer”, 37% of Irish shoppers disagreed with the statement, showing that price is an all-too important factor. This was predominantly driven by the under 45 age groups; 18-24 (47%), 25-34 (45%), 35-44 (40%) and less popular amongst 45+ (39%) year olds, while slightly more men (39%) were also of this opinion compared to women (36%).
© 2014 - Checkout Magazine by Genna Patterson
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