Holiday drinking: Most popular alcohol choices and top buzzing brands in the UK

As the holiday season approaches, celebrations and gatherings bring alcoholic beverages to the forefront of many UK consumers' festivities. Insights from YouGov Profiles explore the nation's favourite alcoholic drinks, shifts in consumption patterns over the past year, and the top alcohol and beer brands driving positive sentiment and purchase conversions.

Favourite alcoholic beverages

Among UK consumers who drink, preferences for alcoholic beverages are diverse. Wine is the most popular choice (32%), followed closely by beer (28%). Spirits are the preference for 23% of consumers, while 10% choose cider or perry (pear cider), and 7% favour other drinks like alcopops, liqueurs, or ready-to-serve cocktails.

Across age groups:

18-24-year-olds: Spirits (28%) lead preferences, with wine (20%) and beer (13%) trailing. Notably, 21% of this group favour other drinks, the highest percentage among age brackets.

25-34-year-olds: Wine and spirits are tied at 26%, followed by beer at 24% and cider or perry at 15%.

35-44-year-olds: Beer (31%) is the top pick, with wine (25%) and spirits (23%) also popular.

45-54-year-olds: Beer leads with 34%, while wine follows closely at 30%. Spirits are far behind at 22%.

55+ years: Wine (41%) is the most popular choice, well ahead of beer (28%) and spirits (20%).

Changes in alcohol consumption over the past year

Alcohol consumption patterns have shifted differently across age groups and beverage preferences. Among beer drinkers, younger consumers are more likely to report an increase in drinking. More than a quarter of 18-24-year-old beer enthusiasts (28%) say they have increased their alcohol consumption in the past year, compared to older beer drinkers who tend to report no change—51% of 35-44-year-olds, 57% of 45-54-year-olds, and 57% of those aged 55 and over.

Wine drinkers, on the other hand, show a strong trend toward reduced consumption among younger demographics. Around 60% of 18-24-year-old wine enthusiasts say they have cut down on alcohol, while older groups lean toward drinking the same amount. Among those aged 55+, 56% report no change, while 38% say they have reduced consumption.

For spirit drinkers, 18-24-year-olds again display the most significant variability. Two fifths (40%) report cutting down on their alcohol consumption, yet 21% say they have increased their intake, the highest proportion among spirit drinkers.

Positive Buzz and Purchase Conversion: Top alcohol and beer brands

In addition to consumption habits, brand performance plays a critical role in the market. YouGov’s Buzz Score, which measures positive sentiment, highlights the top three alcohol and beer brands.

We’ll examine how well these brands are at converting consumers from Awareness to Consideration and finally to Purchase Intent. Scores presented represent averages over a 12-month period.

Stage 1: Awareness

At the top of the purchase funnel is Awareness, a measure of whether consumers have ever heard of a brand. As you’d expect, all of these major alcohol brands have high rates of Awareness among UK adults with Baileys at 95%, Jack Daniel’s at 95% and Smirnoff at 95%. Beer brands also have high Awareness with Guinness at 95%, Heineken at 93% and Perino at 79%.

Stage 2: Consideration

When it comes to the alcohol and beer brands UK consumers would consider purchasing from the next time they’re in the market to buy alcohol, Baileys leads the pack among alcohol beverages with 19% of US consumers saying they would consider purchasing the brand. Guinness leads among the beer brands with 23%. These two brands convert from Awareness to Consideration at a rate of 20% for Baileys and 25% for Guinness.

Despite Peroni’s lower Awareness score (79%), it begins to make up for lost ground with a 26% conversion rate indicating that the company is effective at converting a quarter of aware consumers into considerers.

Roughly one in eight UK consumers would consider Jack Daniel’s (13%) and Heineken (13%) with a conversion rate of 13% and 14%, respectively. Smirnoff earns a Consideration score of 15% and converts at 15% from the Awareness stage.

Stage 3: Purchase Intent

The Purchase Intent stage shows the brands consumers would be most likely to buy. Guinness earns the highest Purchase Intent score (11%) where nearly half of considerers are converted to the Purchase Intent (46%) stage.

Despite Heineken’s high Awareness score, the company loses ground in the middle of the funnel, but it begins to pick up with an 4% Purchase Intent score, representing a 30% conversion rate from the Consideration stage.

Baileys earns a Purchase intent score of 8%, Jack Daniel’s is not far behind (5%). Roughly two-fifths of considerers are converted to purchase both these brands (42% each).

Methodology: YouGov Profiles is based on continuously collected data and rolling surveys, rather than from a single limited questionnaire. Profiles data for Great Britain is nationally representative of the population and weighted by age, gender, education, region, and race. Learn more about Profiles.

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