Economy Not Driving Anyone to Drink
Except me, perhaps. I almost always order alcohol when dining out (though not at lunch because I don’t work with bon vivants, plus 90% of the time I eat at my desk and only drink water or black coffee when I’m not imbibing) but it appears that I’m in the minority.
Overall, Technomic predicts alcohol sales in ”away-from-home venues” to decline 2.5% in 2010. The largest decrease will be in the fine dining channel with a 10.4% drop. The only increase will be seen in the bars and nightclubs segment, though only by 0.6%. Wine sales forecast to shrink 6.7% will suffer more than beer or spirits.
Restaurants & Institutions' "Beverage Census Study" reinforces these finding. 72% of consumers order non-alcholic drinks when dining out (thought this includes all meals and fast food where the option typically doesn’t exist). And bolstering the wine is elite, beer is for regular folks notion, Americans in households earning $75,000+ order wine 3.3 tims per week while those who make less than $20,000 only 0.4 times.
And randomly, more than one-third of Gen Y’ers order root beer.
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