Boomers, not Gen Z, are the generation cutting back most on alcohol
New research overturns assumption that abstinent younger drinkers are behind weak demand.
Baby boomers are the generation cutting back most on alcohol consumption, outstripping Gen Z’s abstinence, as moderation takes hold at every level of society.
Seventy-one percent of boomers, those born between 1946 and 1964, consumed alcohol in the past six months—the lowest drinking rate of any generation and down 2 percentage points from three years ago, according to IWSR, a market researcher for the global beverage industry.
By contrast, 74 percent of Gen Z who are at the legal drinking age reported drinking in the past six months, up from 66 percent three years ago, as young people in their late teens and 20s catch up with the total adult population drinking rate of 76 percent.