Gen Z are leading the way on luxury spirits
For a generation who famously do not drink as much as their parents or grandparents, unlocking the spending habits of Generation Z on alcohol occupies a remarkable amount of brands’ time.
For spirits brand Diageo, who own brands like Johnnie Walker whiskey and Don Julio tequila, the answer can be found in the post-pandemic shift away from pure consumption and towards the experience economy – and, in forgetting what a ‘traditional’ luxury consumer looks like.
“The luxury consumer today is very different to what the luxury consumer looked like 20 years ago – it’s far more diverse, far younger,” Julie Bramham, managing director of The Diageo Luxury Group – a newly-formed section within Diageo to bring its luxury spirits under one roof – said.
“[The industry] has quite fundamentally changed shape and face in the last 20 years,” Bramham said.
Gen Z — those born between 1997 and 2012 — will soon become the wealthiest generation ever, according to a NielsenIQ report.
A 2024 report by Bain & Company similarly found that Gen Z consumers, or those born between 1997 and 2012, will account for nearly a third of luxury purchases by 2030, while millennials, born from 1981 to 1996, will make over half of luxury purchases.
This makes it essential luxury brands to understand and appeal to a new generation of consumer. But this group can often be a paradox for marketers, with studies suggesting that Gen Z seek premium and personalised experiences, set against a backdrop of declining brand loyalty and greater mindfulness of where they spend their money.
Gen Z are looking for quality, not quantity
Gen Z – or a section of Gen Z – may be set to have more money than any generation before them, but they’re less likely to spend it on boozing.
Lots of Gen Z Brits do drink, but more than two-thirds have claimed they ‘fear’ drinking too much and 32 per cent said they drink less alcohol in comparison to last year, the survey found, according to a report by advertising firm Red Brick Road.
“Younger consumers are just not engaging with alcohol as much,” said Marten Lodewijks, the president of the US division of IWSR, a data firm that tracks the alcohol beverage industry, told the Economic Times. “So there’s a much bigger effort to come up with hooks to bring them in.”
But this trend, rather than a challenge, presents an opportunity for high quality brands: Both Gen Z and Gen Y are willing to pay a premium for healthier, more sustainable drinking experiences.
“[Premiunisation] is not a new trend, but it’s a trend that we believe has real longevity,” Bramham said. “It’s an attractive marketplace.”
Younger drinkers are driving experiential luxury
Generation Z is famously interested in experience over traditional consumption. The experiential leisure industry in the UK, for example, has been rapidly growing and has withstood even a dampened consumer backdrop, with a 455 per cent increase in ‘combo’ attractions over the past five years.
“The steady shift in consumers’ preferences towards spaces that are led by experiences and events is one of the most important on-premise dynamics of recent times,” client director at consumer intelligence firm CGA by NIQ Chris Sterling, said last month.
Luxury experiences “continue to maintain traction, as consumers shift spend toward travel experiences and social events,” a recent Bain&Co report found.
“Brands will need to rethink their luxury equations, re-establishing creativity and blending old and new playbooks,” said Federica Levato, partner at Bain & Company and co-author of the report.
Retail brands like Selfridges have already tapped into this by adding immersive gaming experiences in-store.
Recent forays from Diageo into the experience economy incluse last summer’s Casamigos’ three-floor ‘Casa House’ at All Points East Festival in London, and last month’s Johnnie Walker Blue Label ‘Ice Chalet’ experience at Selfridges.
“It’s attracting a different segment of consumers,” Bramham said. [It’s] allowing us to talk to a slightly different audience.”
“In luxury, I think it’s all about experience. It really is. We talk about the product as the souvenir of the experience.,” Bramham said.
Diageo just launched a Don Julio experience at the Rosewood Hotel in London, two-month residency two months “all about the enjoyment of fine Mexican food and incredible tequila based cocktails,” Bramham said. “It’s an experience that people are buying and enjoying, but it’s allowing our brands to play in.”
She added that personalisation can be a key part of experience: “The range of personalisation goes from something relatively simple like an engraved bottle all the way up to a one-to-one with [a master whiskey blender] and her creating your own blend.”
With personalisation and experience only going from strength to strength, this trend looks likely be the future of luxury consumption.