The month of March already begins and you are quietly continuing your “Dry January”, happy to see the respite that sobriety finally offers to your poor body? You are undoubtedly a member of generation Y or Z. Before you, on the other hand, the trend is not at all abstinence, and baby boomers drink more than ever. Almost retired, with a comfortable savings and determined to pay good time, they align the glasses of alcohol one after the other and are the first players in the consumption increase in the United States.
While the prevention campaigns have led new generations to reduce the flow, the overall expenses carried out in bars in January 2025 increased by 1% compared to last year in the United States: it is that baby boomers-which have raised their expenses by 4% in the field-have a larger budget and definitely prefer bars to restaurants.
Work less to drink more
According to a survey carried out in the United States, the percentage of alcohol consumers over 55 has increased from 49% to 59% from the early 2000s until today, when that of 18-34 year olds has decreased from 72% to 62%. Inflation helping, most people have reduced their consumption … except those over 65. Overall, the elderly always drink less than young people, but while the latter tend to reduce their consumption, the former observe a reverse trend, is Business Insider.
“They are in a sort of Yolo phase (“We only live once”, editor’s note) Where they say to themselves: “I have money, I feel good, people live longer and better health”. They live in a way in a privileged period when buying pretty things made them want. ”believes Kate Bernot, analyst at Sightlines, who studies the alcohol industry. Alcoholiers and publicists have understood the interest of targeting this senior audience who has a good financial windfall, and which has so far represented an underestimated market.
For their part, generations Y and Z are faced with a reduction in their increasingly heavy purchasing power, and struggle to buy accommodation, or even pay their rent. The youngest are also more sensitive to the ecological necessities of adopting a more sober lifestyle, a frugality which has obviously been integrated by their ancestors.
