Online alcohol purchases have increased by 20% in the UK
People in the UK are buying more alcohol online than in previous years
Since the pandemic began, consumers have been pushed to purchasing more things online, most specifically alcohol.
A study of 2,000 UK adults’ purchasing habits by London-based courier service Gophr has uncovered how much more alcohol people have been ordering online in comparison to previous years.
The research has revealed that almost a quarter (20%) of adults are purchasing more alcohol online than ever before with a further 9% having recently ordered alcohol online for the first time ever. This increase coincides with a separate study from IBIS World which found that the online alcohol retailing industry grew by 11.4% between 2015 to 2020.
In terms of regional online boozy purchases, the biggest increase was in the North East with 24% of people claiming to have ordered more alcohol online than in previous years. This was followed by Yorkshire & the Humber, the South East and the West Midlands at 22%. However only 14% of people in Northern Ireland said they had bought more alcohol online, which was the lowest in the UK.
The top five increases regionally were (percentage of population buying more alcohol online than before):
- North East – 24%
- Yorkshire & The Humber – 22%
- South East – 22%
- West Midlands – 22%
- Wales – 21%
Seb Roberts, Founder and CEO of Gophr said: “Shopping habits have been massively impacted by the ongoing global pandemic. With periods of lockdown forcing vast numbers of non-essential shops to close, shoppers all over the country have had no choice but to look online for the products that they need.
“Although alcohol isn’t an essential item, it’s interesting to see how many people in the UK have altered their habits when it comes to purchasing it.”
