July 29th – CGA’s Consumer On Premise Impact Report uses data from a survey (July 20-22, 2022) of 1,605 consumers within Florida, Texas, California and New York to explore their expectations, desires and how they plan to behave in the next two weeks.
Overall visitation
- Two thirds of consumers have visited restaurants and/or bars for food led occasions in the past 2 weeks, while around 2 in 5 have done so for drink led occasions.
- The frequency of visits to On Premise venues has remained consistent with 3 in 4 consumers having visited the On Premise 3 or more times in the past 3 months.
- Future visitation remains positive with 7 in 10 planning to eat out in the On Premise during the next 2 weeks and almost half planning to head to venues for drink led occasions.
- Beer and cocktails remain the most consumed alcoholic drink categories in bars and restaurants.
- Over 3 in 5 consumers’ most recent visit to the On Premise was in the past week There also remains a strong eagerness to visit the On Premise in the near future, with 57% intending to make their next visit to bars/restaurants within the next week.
Premiumization in Late Night Occasions
- Amongst the 8% of consumers who are visiting On Premise venues for late night occasions (after 10pm) in the past 3 months, two thirds have paid extra for higher quality drinks.
- Such high levels of trading up present strong opportunities within these occasions – particularly for categories such as Whisk(e)y and Tequila, the categories most commonly “traded up”.
- However Beer (44%) and Cocktails (40%) also rank highly, highlighting the importance of this occasion for premium brands.
Craft Beer Breweries
- 1 in 5 On Premise visitors have consumed craft beer in the last 3 months.
- Independent breweries local to the consumer’s region are the most popular with category drinkers (particularly in California), closely followed by independent microbreweries local to their town/city (over-indexing in New York).
- Half of craft beer drinkers consume lager, making it the single most popular style of craft beer, although various alternatives are also proving popular and demonstrating high consumption rates.
Matthew Crompton, CGA Regional Director – North America, said “Despite concerns around inflation and the increase in cost of living, it’s clear that there are significant opportunities within the On Premise channel for drinks suppliers to promote their more premium brands. What is key is how these brands are positioned to consumers, and when – with the late night occasion posing a particular advantage for brands that are perceived as being higher-quality. This is just one example of how consumer behavior has shifted and at CGA, we’ll continue to assess the situation in light of the increase in cost of living, to ensure our partners have access to actionable insights that measure the implications for the On Premise channel.”
The Consumer On Premise Impact Report is a consumer research report tracking and reflecting on how consumers currently feel about the On Premise, and how the sector can position its offering to increase visitation. The latest On Premise Impact Report by CGA, along with other special reports issued over the past several weeks, can be found here: https://cgastrategy.com/on-premise-impact-us/