Study: Baby Boomers Cutting Back on Alcohol Most, Not Gen Z
A new alcohol market study reveals that Baby Boomers are reducing alcohol consumption more significantly than Gen Z. Boomers' drinking rates have declined, challenging common perceptions.
Baby Boomers are the generation cutting back most on alcohol consumption, outpacing Gen Z's abstinence rates, as moderation takes hold across society. Seventy-one percent of boomers, defined as those born between 1946 and 1964, consumed alcohol in the past six months.
This figure represents the lowest drinking rate of any generation and is down by 2 percentage points from three years ago, according to IWSR, a market researcher for the global beverage industry. In contrast, 74 percent of Gen Z individuals of legal drinking age reported drinking in the past six months.
This is an increase from 66 percent three years ago, indicating that younger adults are catching up to the total adult population's drinking rate of 76 percent. The shift suggests a broader societal trend towards moderation, affecting all age groups, but most pronouncedly among older generations.
The findings challenge the common assumption that reduced alcohol consumption is primarily a Gen Z phenomenon. The IWSR data indicates a more complex picture of evolving drinking habits across the demographic spectrum, with significant reduction observed in older cohorts.