The recent rise in popularity of gin is clearly evident in bars around the country and this trend is borne out in recent research amongst gin drinkers, where just over 1 in 5 (22%) claim they have increased the number of times they have drunk gin over the past year. This research, conducted on behalf of Retail Intelligence by Empathy Research, amongst a nationally representative sample of 1,067 adults aged 18+, sought to understand who is driving the growth in the gin market and how the increased consumption of gin may be impacting the wider alcohol market.
The growth in past year gin consumption has been driven by those aged under 34, with a third (33%) of gin drinkers in this age category claiming that they have increased the number of occasions they have drunk gin in the past, with a quarter of female gin drinkers also increasing consumption in the past year.
There are several factors driving this increase in consumption, with the most cited aspect being a recent discovery of how nice gin is to drink (41%). Further to this, a third (33%) claim that they are drinking more gin nowadays, as it is a nice drink when you want to relax, with the same proportion (33%) claiming that the increased availability and range of gins on offer has led to increased consumption. Just over 1 in 5 (21%) claim they are drinking more gin nowadays because there is more attention placed on it, than there was before.
There appears to be two main streams from where this gin growth is emanating, just over 4 in 10 (41%) of those who are drinking more gin compared to this time last year, claim that they have not replaced any other alcohol with gin and that they are just drinking more gin than they would have done previously. There are also relatively high levels of switching from other spirits to gin evident, almost 3 in 10 (28%) claim they have substituted another spirit for gin, with 1 in 7 (14%) claiming to have substituted beer for gin.
Amongst all gin drinkers there is a significant proportion (43%) who specify the type of tonic they want to have with their gin when they order, rising to over half (54%) amongst those who have increased their gin consumption in the past year.
For further information and more in-depth analysis on consumer behaviour within the gin category, please contact Robbie Clarke at Empathy Research.
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