Americans' shifting drinking habits could change happy hour as we know it
Flickr / Heather Carpenter Costello
In 2016, Americans are drinking at home more than ever, thanks to new technology and a thirst for budget-friendly options.
While that's bad news for the bar business, other companies are more than happy to cash in.
Americans' favorite place to drink wine is in the comfort of their own homes, according to a recent survey from wine app Vivino.
Forty-seven percent of millennial and 61% of Gen X and Boomer respondents would rather drink wine at home than at social gatherings, restaurants, or wineries, according to the survey of 1,526 US consumers.
Younger wine lovers' preference for drinking at home came as somewhat of a surprise to Vivino.
"One of the theories we had is maybe millennials just like to be at home," Vivino founder Heini Zachariassen told Business Insider. "It could also be ... they are being price conscious."
Americans' preference for drinking at home is part of a wider movement toward what some beverage-industry insiders are calling the rise of "home-tainment."
Flickr / Heather Carpenter Costello
"People, more and more, want to have good moments with their friends at home," Gilles Bogaert, CFO of liquor company Pernod Ricard, told Business Insider.
The growth of socializing in the home, as opposed to bars and restaurants, can be linked to a number of factors, but two in particular stand out.
New technology makes it possible to do everything from finding new music to ordering food to online dating — or simply swiping on Tinder — from the comfort of your own couch with a glass of wine in hand.
Additionally, millennials are a budget-conscious generation, with 59% saying that cost outweighs all other influences when deciding what to drink. When price is the top concern, drinking at home clearly beats out paying for a glass of wine at an overpriced bar. This trend actually dates back to the recession, and Time highlighted this shift in 2010.
Consumers' preferences for drinking at home is a concerning situation for bars and restaurants. While total food and beverage sales grew more than 6% in 2015, according to Nielsen data, beverage sales grew at a slower rate, by only 3.3%. According to Vivino's survey, bars are the least popular place to drink among consumers, with just 3% of respondents naming them as their favorite place to drink wine.
Flickr / Heather Carpenter Costello
But as bars struggle, there are new opportunities for established companies and startups to cash in on the growing home-tainment business.
"If you look at these apps and services, as they become better and better, there is a very, very good chance that an app [could become better] at recommending what I should drink" than sommeliers and bartenders, says Zachariassen.
Meanwhile, companies such as Pernod Ricard are working to better market brands like Absolut and Jameson to customers drinking at home, as though to confirm that the party is no longer at the bar. Absolut, for instance, has launched initiatives such as having "ambassadors" hold parties and tastings in their homes to help convince others to use the vodka for all their home-tainment needs.
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In 2016, these good moments are happening at home more than ever before.
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