Light beer appears to be making an impact on consumers with just over 6 in 10 (61%) adults claiming to have purchased light beer before, either in the off-trade or on-trade. Recent research on behalf of Retail Intelligence by Empathy Research, amongst a nationally representative sample of 1,008 adults aged 18+, sought to identify who is buying light beer and their motivations for purchasing light beer.
Purchase incidence of light beer is quite evenly spread across gender and age profiles. Males are marginally more likely to purchase (63%) light beer than the total, with some 59% of females having purchased previously. For some 22% of light beer purchasers, light beer has replaced the type of beer they would have drunk previously.
The main motivation for currently purchasing light beer is a desire by consumers to try and reduce the number of calories which are being consumed through alcohol, with just over a quarter (27%) of light beer purchasers claiming this to be the case. Almost 1 in 5 (19%) claim to purchase light beer because it’s nicer than other beers. Availability is also a factor in the purchase of light beer with almost 1 in 5 (19%), claiming that light beer is more readily available than it was before and thus enabling more widespread purchase.
However, for some, light beer is being used as a mechanic for allowing a higher level of consumption of alcohol overall. 1 in 8 (12%) of those who drink light beer claim they do so because they can drink more beer as it has fewer calories, with a similar proportion (11%) claiming that hangovers aren’t as bad when they drink light beer. Almost 1 in 10 (9%) of those who drink light beer claim that because there is less alcohol in light beer they can drink more on a night out (9%).
For further information and more in-depth analysis on consumers’ behaviour in relation to light beer consumption and their motivations for purchase, please contact Robbie Clarke at Empathy Research [email protected]
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