Young people less likely to drink alcohol in January, data shows

Key stat: 75% of US adults ages 21 to 24 are at least somewhat likely to participate in dry January this year, according to CivicScience. While this figure declines with age, a majority of those under 55 are somewhat or very likely to abstain.

Beyond the chart:

• Dry January is contributing to nonalcoholic beverage sales, but the trend extends into the rest of the year. Off-premise nonalcoholic beverage sales—including nonalcoholic beer, wine, and spirits—soared 31% in 2023 to $510 million, according to Nielsen IQ data reported by Fox Business.
• US alcoholic beverage industry digital ad spend is on the rise as well, up 11.5% YoY for a total of $3.42 billion in 2024, according to our December 2023 forecast.
• While Uber is shuttering its alcohol delivery service, Drizly, Uber Eats will continue to serve alcohol.

Use this chart:

• Evaluate alcoholic beverage ad spend.
• Prepare for next year’s Dry January marketing campaigns.

More like this:

• 3 key growth areas for alcohol brands and retailers
• The pandemic accelerated online food and beverage growth, but alcohol was an outlier
• How the Ozempic effect is—and isn’t—changing consumer behavior
• US Alcohol Ecommerce Forecast 2023 (Insider Intelligence subscription required)

Methodology: Data is from a January 2024 CivicScience survey. 715 US alcohol drinkers ages 21+ were surveyed during December 1-20, 2023.