Gen Z's Sober Secret: It's the Money, Honey

Forget all that jazz about Gen Z being super healthy and only wanting fancy drinks. A new study is saying the real reason they're not hitting the bottle as much is way simpler: they're broke.

Yep, you read that right. According to Rabobank analyst Bourcard Nesin in his new study, The Real Reasons Generation Z Is Drinking Less Alcohol, when you actually look at the numbers, Gen Z's lighter drinking habits aren't some big generational shift in values. It's mostly down to the fact that they just don't have as much cash to splash as older folks did at the same age.

"Gen Z ain't got no money," Nesin puts it pretty bluntly. Think about it: they're earning less, their jobs are less stable, and a lot of them are still living at home. Plus, let's not forget a good chunk of them are still under the legal drinking age anyway. When you consider all that, the amount they are spending on booze actually looks pretty normal compared to millennials back in the day. To make matters worse, the economy has been signaling that we are on the precipice of a recession.

But it's not just about the economy. Our digital world plays a big role too.

Think about it: smartphones, social media, and parents keeping a closer eye on things have seriously cut down on underage drinking. Back in the early 90s, over 60% of high school seniors had been drunk. Now? It's closer to a third. A lot of that drop happened right around the time smartphones became super common.  High schoolers today are engrossed by TikTok's about Kim K. or Vladimir Putin so sneaking a sip of Chianti from my Dad's wine cabinet is not important for them.  Nothing was more thrilling for me when I was in m̶i̶d̶d̶l̶e̶ ̶s̶c̶h̶o̶o̶l̶ high school. But then I was always meeting up with friends in person.   Getting to the mall on Saturday was paramount for Gen X'er's like myself.  Now young people are spending more time online and less time hanging out in person.  Fewer meet-up's or parties mean fewer chances to drink. Plus, nobody wants a picture of them looking wasted ending up online forever. That kind of public embarrassment can have real consequences, especially for young athletes and such.  I am grateful that occurrences of me being intoxicated to the point of passing out on a park bench preceded the advent of the smartphone.  

Before I get anymore digressive about my relationship with alcohol as a young adult,  here's the key takeaway that is consistent with my longstanding view if you have been reading my blog's on this debate: Nesin agrees that a lot of this is about being young, not some permanent change in Gen Z's DNA. As they get older and those watchful eyes ease up, the report suggests we'll probably see their alcohol consumption will increase and they will slowly migrate towards drinking wine (yes, this is a wine blog and we are interested in consumer habits toward wine) once they have exhausted their thirst for seltzers and ciders. 

So, for the  wine and greater drinks industry, this report offers a bit of comfort and a wake-up call. Gen Z isn't necessarily turning their backs on booze forever. They just need a bit more dough in their pockets and maybe a little less fear of ending up on TikTok looking wasted.