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CHAPTER 5 PURCHASING AND OFF-SALES

Key Point Summary

• Lager/beer and wine are the largest sellers in Scotland mirroring the UK off-sales trend.
• It is difficult to ascertain the time between purchase and consumption for most off-sales purchases other than those bought for 'front-loading'.
• Pre-mixed drinks and lager/beer were more popular with younger people (<25 years), whereas spirits and wine were more popular with older people (>25 years). The notable exception was vodka, which was popular with young females. However, it must be noted there were variable, localised consumption patterns across the six areas.
• More people are accessing off-sales, with the main reason due to cost of alcohol. On-sales alcohol was viewed as increasingly more expensive in comparison to off-sales alcohol, hence frontloading was a popular activity.

Purchase and Consumption Patterns

5.1 Recent data showed 47,847 licensed outlets in the UK off-licence sector (58% of which were licensed independent grocers) with an alcohol turnover of more than £11 billion ( WARC, 2006). In 2005, off-sales licences in Scotland accounted for 37% of the 17,059 liquor licences in Scotland with the following distribution: Shops = 44%; Supermarkets = 9%; Garages = 2%; Other = 6%; Unknown = 39%.

5.2 Supermarkets account for over 80% of the total grocery market in Scotland. Licensed products account for 30% of a modern convenience store's turnover ¹⁵. ( SGF, 2005). Data collected for this study from 2 retailers covering 127 stores across Scotland also supports this with 20% and 23% ¹⁶ total sales being accounted for by alcohol ¹⁷.

Table 3 Overview of Types of Retailers across Scotland

5.3 Between 2000 and 2005 consumer spending on alcoholic beverages in the off-sales sector has seen strong growth however this is attributed to increases in duty and consumers developing 'more discerning palates' hence trading upmarket and drinking more wine and it is not clear if part of this growth is due to a higher level of consumption (Verdict, 2006).

5.4 From the available industry data gathered the UK wide alcoholic drinks market was worth $60.5 billion dollars in 2003, and is expected to rise to $65.9 billion (£35 billion pounds at today's exchange ²³) by 2008 (Datamonitor, 2004).

5.5 Currently the UK ranks 21st ²⁴ in the world per capita consumption of spirits. The picture is similar for wine, with a ranking of 20th ²⁵; and there is striking difference with beer consumption per capita, with the UK rising to 6th ²⁶ ( WARC, 2005). Grocery industry data suggests that non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages have been the best performers since 2000, growing by 26.2% and 23.7% respectively (Grocery Retailers, 2006). Alcohol plays an important part in terms of grocery sales across the sector.

5.6 In 2004, off-licence alcohol sales were broken down as 28% beer, 44% wine (including fortified), 22% spirits, 3% cider, and 3% flavoured alcoholic beverages. ( WARC, 2005).

5.7 For the year ending April 05, lager dominated the UK beer off-sales market, with Stella Artois, Carling and Foster's the top three brands (£1.17 billion in sales between them). Light wines dominated the wine market with £1.148 billion in sales out of a total wine market of £1.415 billion sales ²⁷. Spirits were split between dark spirits (total sales £505 million ²⁷; top brand Bell's 8 yr old whisky with £116 million in sales), white spirits (total sales £513 million ²⁷; top brand Smirnoff Red Label vodka with £159 million in sales) and liqueurs (total sales £223 million ²⁷; top brand Baileys with £104 million in sales). These figures compare with a total sales figure of £247 million for all 'ready to drinks' ²⁷ (top brand Smirnoff Ice with £62 million in sales), and £283 million ²⁷ for ciders/perries (perry accounts for £49.5m within this category). ( WARC, 2005)

5.8 Cans account for 69% of UK take-home beer sold (by volume). In 2005, the UK deliveries of cans of alcoholic drinks increased 1.4% (57 million) to 4.203 billion cans out of a European market of 20.7 billion ( UK growth has been continuous since 2000). Lager dominates the take-home market, with a 74% share (up 1%) of all beer and cider sold in 2005. The fastest growing products in 2005 were cider (8% up) and wines and champagne (up 5%). Beer and spirits were up 1% (Can Makers, 2006).

5.9 Evidence from all groups of participants in this study generally supports industry data (above) in that wine and lager/beer are reported to be the largest sellers in Scotland. However, the above data does not break down to be either Scotland- specific, and is not available at the level of individual buyers (e.g. it can't be analysed by gender).

5.10 As part of the study one of the leading five multi-grocer supermarkets provided some data on purchasing. It was suggested that: frequency of alcoholic sessions (as opposed to units consumed) has been static for some time (at around 5 sessions per fortnight); penetration of alcohol has declined since 2002 (around 24 million of population); sales of 'alcopops' have declined in the last 3 years; the proportion of alcohol in customers overall drinks repertoire has decreased to the same level it was at in 1980, 1986 and 2000. The overall impression is counter to the image of a constantly expanding market.

5.11 All Strategic Stakeholders working in the public health and community safety area believed clearly that alcohol consumption rates were directly related to alcohol harm. It was also felt that increased availability and cheapness of alcohol over the last 15 years were key factors in the increasing levels of harm. What was stressed through industry Stakeholders was that the nature of the relationship between alcohol purchases and consumption is unknown.

5.12 Across the study, Key Stakeholders felt that there was a real lack of understanding of the relationship between purchase and consumption.

5.13 It was clear when asking the Staff and Managers from the shops within the study there was a belief that a large proportion of their male customers bought lager/ beer. Focus groups in 3 of the areas perceived 'Buckfast' to be the drink of choice with young males, whereas females were perceived more as wine and white spirit drinkers. Vodka ranked highly, specifically with females in the focus groups.

5.14 Staff interviewed were knowledgeable about their area and their trade and had a range of experience in the industry from approximately 2 to 36 years (where stated). Staff knowledge of individual customers was high in the dedicated off-sales and convenience stores and varying in the supermarkets depending upon size and/or area. From interviews with Managers of stores, where data were available/known, sales figures for alcohol ranged from £3k per week within the smallest stores to £80k per week within the large supermarkets.

5.15 The general consensus from the community focus groups was that more alcohol is consumed in private residences than public houses and night clubs, the main reason given is the rising cost of alcohol in such establishments. More interestingly, focus group participants tended to have the perception that underage youths who drink in on-sales establishments are 'ok'- it is outdoor drinking that people take issue with. This finding is backed up by the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey (Bromley and Ormston, 2005) where the majority of respondents appear to believe that drinking in public should be restricted.

5.16 Participants from the >25 years focus groups tended to cite people under the age of 30 years as the biggest drinkers and all conceded there was, at least to some degree, under age drinking in their area.

5.17 Focus groups data across all the areas showed individual and personalised consumption patterns. This is a result of localised demographics, for example, cost of transport coupled with historical violence in one area which led to young people having by far the highest consumption of off-sales alcohol for frontloading, tending to 'pool' their money to purchase large quantities of alcohol with the aim of reducing their on-sales spending to offset transport costs.

5.18 There is an issue arising here with regards to what young people (specifically underage drinkers) do with their alcohol. They do not necessarily have the ability to store excess alcohol purchases should they not be consumed, therefore, possibly leading to a greater amount of consumption in a shorter space of time.

5.19 Overall, the younger focus groups participants tend to focus on quantity and alcoholic volume rather than specific types of drinks or brands; it appeared to be more important to purchase as large a volume of alcohol as possible for the available money.

Profile of Purchasers

Location of Purchase

5.20 A study of 2,474 adults (over 16 yrs) showed 70% of people were most likely to have bought alcohol in the last year from a supermarket, with 30% from an off-licence. Very few (6%) had purchased alcohol from somewhere other than a retail outlet. When questioned about their purchasing in the previous week, men were far more likely than women to purchase from an off-licence (8% compared with 4%). (Lader and Goddard, 2006).

5.21 As per industry evidence, most of the older focus group participants purchased the majority of their alcohol from a supermarket. There was one focus group exception where most people used the local convenience store but would use the supermarket for 'bulk- buy' deals.

5.22 Of most note, the profile of one young focus group was split between leaving their area to access specific promotions (these group members purchased alcohol during the week ready for the weekend) and those who bulk bought from their local convenience store at the weekend (and indeed being offered greater discounts than advertised for doing so); however all this group did 'pool' their money with friends to increase their purchasing power, spending on average approximately £40 to £80 per week between two to three people.

Type of Alcohol Consumed

5.23 A profile in 2003 showed that just 8% of white wine drinkers and 5% of red wine drinkers were in the 18-24 age group (compared with 40 and 47% respectively in the 50+ age group; WARC, 2005). This suggests that a study of links between antisocial behaviour in young people and off-licence sales may be better focused on beer (and cider) and spirits rather than wines (fortified or not).

5.24 Recent Target Group Index ( TGI) data suggest that vodka and to a lesser extent white rum are the spirits associated with the younger demographic. Around 50% of vodka drinkers in the UK are under 35. An overall increase of 4% in the moving average total ( MAT) sales of vodka is accounted for by an increase in off-sales only (6%). The trend in Scottish off-trade sales of vodka is upwards to June 2006 with around over 1.2 million cases sold in the previous year ( BMRB, 2006).

5.25 Within the retail and industry interviews, purchasing patterns had seen the whisky sector within off-sales remain static with largely male drinkers whilst there had been a move to white spirits with increasing number of women drinking low priced vodka spanning across all age groups, especially in Scotland.

5.26 Interestingly this move was seen as the change in on-sales of vodka moving into the off-sales sector with retailers giving more shelf space to vodka brands.

5.27 The Retail and Industry Stakeholders along with shop Staff also acknowledged the increasing importance of the wine sector and the increase of the cider sector.

5.28 Most Staff and Managers interviewed commented that their customers were from a broad cross section of the community with common busy (weekend, evenings) and quiet (early week, mornings) purchasing times. There were no clear distinctions between what types of drinks different demographics drank, however, the strongest consensuses were that spirits and wine were seen as more popular with older people (wine especially women) and pre-mixed drinks and lager/beer was more popular with younger people (lager/beer especially men). However, vodka was noted as a popular drink with young women.

5.29 This was backed up by the Retail/Industry Strategic Stakeholders who also believed that different age groups and different geographical areas drank different things, though it was agreed that under 25's do concentrate on bottled beers and some designer drinks e.g. Smirnoff ice etc.

5.30 In terms of literature few peer-reviewed studies have been carried out on 'alcopops' and young people's drinking (Austin, 2001) and general opinion is divided regarding whether they contribute to teenage drinking habits (Deutsche Welle, 2003) or not (Brain and Parker, 1997). In general, it appears that 'alcopops' are not generally drunk to excess by young people due to: the cost, strength, and drink image ²⁸; and instead underage drinkers opt for cheap, high strength alcohol to become intoxicated quickly.

5.31 The six 18-25 years focus groups also gave insight into why types of drinks may be associated with certain ages and behaviour because as people age they wish to remove themselves from the 'hedonism' of youth and the perception of immaturity by those younger and therefore changes to drink type are essential in changing image.

5.32 Within the focus groups there was a strong emphasis on young people drinking alcohol, and drinking to excess. Whilst all groups acknowledged this, there was particular focus on the community repercussions from the older focus groups however participants from the young persons' focus group mentioned not only their peers as influencing their drinking decisions but their parents and the culture of drinking within their area.

Relationship between On-Sales and Off-Sales

5.33 In the majority of areas looked at for this study, Staff and Managers of off-sales reported that the number of off-sales present in those areas was enough to support the community with no real issues. However, in several areas they believed that there were too many on-sales premises.

5.34 A study by Kara and Hutton (2003) involving a representative sample of 1003 Scottish adults (aged 16 and over) found that 63% felt that the number of off-licence establishments in Scotland was ' about right' (2% thought there were 'too few', while 29% believed that there were 'too many'). In addition, 61% believed that the opening hours of off-sales premises were 'about right' (21% thought there should be further restrictions, 14% thought hours should be extended). Of those who thought that hours should be extended, 65% thought people should be able to purchase alcohol at any time.

5.35 Across all Strategic Stakeholders there was agreement that the key relationship between on-trade and off-trade was that on-trade sales growth had been stable if not slightly declining, whereas off-trade sales had increased over the last ten years.

5.36 This can be attributed to alcohol being relatively expensive within an on-sales environment to being relatively cheap within an off-sales environment, in particular the supermarket sector.

5.37 Evidence gathered from the fieldwork does point to the fact that fewer people are going out. The price difference between off-sales and on-sales is often cited as the reason why young people 'front-load' before going out at the weekends. Common themes mentioned include that some young people don't have the income to go to the pub before going to a night club, therefore they utilise the fact that it is significantly cheaper to buy alcohol from off-sales than on-sales.

5.38 The Retail and Industry Stakeholders saw a direct effect on on-sales drinking during the summer and the World Cup 2006 due to increased off-sales. Evidence shows that there has been a trend away from 'on-trade' sales in beer, with 41 % of Britain's beer now bought in shops and supermarkets. In 2000, the figure was 33% and in 1998, 30% ( BBPA, 2006).

5.39 From a health perspective, one Strategic Key Stakeholder commented upon the evolution from on-sales, to the present day dominance of off-sales as a source of alcohol for problem drinkers, i.e. the source is different and cheaper.

5.40 Area Key Stakeholders and some focus groups felt that in terms of monitoring for antisocial behaviour, on-sales premises had more control because alcohol was bought and then consumed on their premises. However this issue is muddied when bringing into play the fact that people sometimes drink before going out at night (front loading) and therefore monitoring is perhaps made more difficult.

5.41 Added to this, Area Key Stakeholders postulated that the majority of the time, on-sales have greater supervision levels (both of customer and staff), and staff usually work as a team (therefore providing more support), alongside CCTV, bouncers and other security measures.

5.42 A seemingly minor but perhaps important cultural point was made by Area Key Stakeholders suggesting that the pub may no longer be part of the process of socialising young people and alcohol (and parents now possibly consume more alcohol at home), they may not be exposed to sensible, more regulated, drinking practices. In addition to this, participants worried about young people seeing intoxicated adults on the street, especially as the new smoking ban potentially means more people are standing outside on-sales. A few compared this to what they perceived drinking in Scotland used to be like, and one compared it to drinking in Europe, where social drinking practices across generations generally exist. As young people may be drinking solely with other young people, it is unsupervised with no appropriate role model.

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