Nearly one in four of those who attempted ‘Dry January’ this month have already given in to temptation, according to a snap poll by KAM Media.

Katy KAM Media
KAM Media managing director, Katy Moses

Yes, we’re only five days into the new year and around 2.7 million people have given up and consumed alcohol, according to this research.

KAM Media managing director, Katy Moses, said: “Thirty per cent of UK adults intended to take part in Dry January, according to research we did in December. By 1st January that figure had dropped by 17%.

“Our most recent poll, conducted on 5th January shows that only 25% of those who actually attempted Dry January are still going strong. Given the new lockdown restrictions, it probably doesn’t come as a huge surprise to most!”

Generation Z and young Millennials are keenest to take part in Dry January, with 48% of those under the age of 34 years attempting to give it a go.

‘Sales have boomed in low and no categories’

“2020 was such a tough year for many people that you may think people would be less likely to give up alcohol, but the number of UK adults attempting Dry January this year remained on a par with last year, but people are giving up much sooner,” said Katy.

Seventy-five per cent of those taking part in Dry January expected non-alcoholic versions of beer and wine to help them get through the month. According to KAM’s new ‘low and no’ research, consumer
awareness of the availability of low and no alcohol variants has sky-rocketed in the last year.

Katy added: “Last year, only two-thirds of consumers had even heard of non-alcoholic beer. Now that
figure is three in four. Awareness of non-alcoholic spirits and wine has also grown significantly. Sales have boomed in low and no categories this year. We expect them to play an increasingly important role both at home and in the on-trade.”

• KAM Media will reveal the full results of its new research into low and no alcohol — from the customer perspective — on 19th January, via webinar. More details and tickets here.