Plata Alejandro, Motoki Kosuke, Spence Charles, Velasco Carlos
Department of Human Geography, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden.
Department of Food Science and Business, Miyagi University, Sendai, Japan.
Int J Gastron Food Sci. 2022 Mar;27:100397. doi: 10.1016/j.ijgfs.2021.100397. Epub 2021 Aug 16.
During the first sequence of lockdowns implemented in many countries around the world in early 2020 as a result of the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, there was widespread concern amongst many health professionals regarding a predicted rise in alcohol consumption. However, studies have reported diverse findings, with some consumer groups exhibiting an increase and others a decrease in their alcohol purchase and consumption patterns. Although the long-lasting changes in alcohol consumption, if any, are still unknown, the current situation has effectively accelerated a number of pre-existing trends which will likely continue in the future. E-commerce is growing steadily, mainly because of the restrictions within the on-trade channel and concerns around catching COVID-19 amongst consumers, thus lifting traditional barriers to the adoption of digital channels. Premiumization has also grown significantly during the pandemic, especially in the spirits category, due, in part, to the fact that consumers have been increasingly trying to recreate bar and restaurant quality gastronomic experiences in the privacy of their own homes. The trend toward homemade experiences is multi-stakeholder as consumers, retailers, restaurateurs, bar owners, and brands all try to help facilitate at-home consumption experiences. Larger size purchases seem to reflect not only the stockpiling phenomena that occurred during the initial phases of the pandemic but also convenience for consumers (e.g., avoiding queues). Additionally, the growing home mixology movement has been observed to result in consumers buying larger amounts of alcohol in order to facilitate cocktail making experimentation at home. It is important to stress, though, that this review was specially focused on available data from the first three quarters of 2020, as an effort to identify and understand the initial impacts the COVID-19 was creating amongst alcohol consumers. It currently remains uncertain how these trends will evolve, and whether or not they will continue post COVID-19 (whenever that might be). Key similarities and differences across national markets are highlighted.
2020年初，由于新冠疫情的爆发，世界上许多国家实施了首轮封锁措施。在此期间，许多卫生专业人员普遍担心酒精消费量会出现预计的增长。然而，研究报告了各种各样的结果，一些消费群体的酒精购买和消费模式有所增加，而另一些则有所下降。尽管酒精消费的长期变化（如果有的话）仍然未知，但当前的情况有效地加速了一些先前存在的趋势，这些趋势可能会在未来持续下去。电子商务正在稳步增长，这主要是由于线下交易渠道的限制以及消费者对感染新冠病毒的担忧，从而消除了采用数字渠道的传统障碍。在疫情期间，高端化也显著增长，尤其是在烈酒类别中，部分原因是消费者越来越多地试图在自己家中私密地重现酒吧和餐厅的高品质美食体验。自制体验的趋势涉及多个利益相关者，因为消费者、零售商、餐馆老板、酒吧老板和品牌都试图帮助促进家庭消费体验。购买大包装似乎不仅反映了疫情初期出现的囤货现象，也反映了消费者的便利性（例如，避免排队）。此外，人们观察到家庭调酒运动的兴起导致消费者购买更多的酒精，以便在家中进行鸡尾酒制作实验。不过，需要强调的是，本次综述特别关注了2020年前三季度的现有数据，旨在识别和理解新冠疫情对酒精消费者产生的初步影响。目前尚不确定这些趋势将如何演变，以及在新冠疫情之后（无论何时）它们是否会持续。文中突出了各国市场之间的主要异同点。
