4 minute read
BIG NIGHT IN
INSIGHT: BLAKE GLADMAN, STRATEGY & INSIGHT DIRECTOR, KAM MEDIA
THE ‘BIG NIGHT IN’... REIMAGINED
CORONAVIRUS MAY HAVE KEPT CONSUMERS APART, BUT IT ALSO BROUGHT THEM CLOSER TOGETHERIN OTHER WAYS. ONE OF THE RESULTS HAS BEEN A REINVIGORATION OF THE ‘BIG NIGHT IN’, BRINGINGPLENTY OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR RETAILERS, ARGUES KAM MEDIA’S BLAKE GLADMAN.
The lockdown may have been designed to keep us apart but in many respects, it has brought people closer together. Nights out down the pub were replaced with nights in, in front of a screen. Catch-ups, quizzes, birthday parties, dates and even weddings have all been taking place online as Britain discovered the world of Zoom.
The initial spike in demand for online communication platforms, from Zoom to Houseparty may have slowed and the reopening of hospitality will also play a significant role, but we predict that this doesn’t spell the end for the ‘Big Night In’, just simply a second phase. Recent research by KAM Media in the few days after pubs and restaurants re-opened their doors in England showed that 55% of consumers are still not planning on visiting a pub or restaurant and won’t be doing so for some time. This suggests there is still going to be a high demand for online socialising and making the most of nights indoors.
The ‘Big Night In’, of course, is not a new phenomenon in the world of local retail. It’s a marketing dynamic which has played a role in promoting BWS and snacking opportunities for many years. However, the key difference here is that this new trend is now consumer-led, and not driven by suppliers or retailers. Before, we were trying to create occasions from which we wanted shoppers to buy into. Now, consumers have created their own occasions and we now need to fit our products to meet their new needs. The key here, then, is to understand these consumers and these occasions first, to truly offer a solution which delivers.
Alcohol remains a key category within the ‘Big Night In’ occasion and there are two specific macro-trends which have been slowly filtering into consumer behaviour for some time now which have been accelerated by lockdown. The first is the significant rise in alcohol-free consumption and the other is an increase in demand for ‘premium’.
The ease in which people can connect online, or access films and boxsets means that the ‘Big Night In’ can be every night of the week. So we are seeing consumers changing their alcohol consumption behaviours to fit in with this increased frequency of drinking occasions. One in six consumers in a recent KAM Media study into the ‘low & no alcohol’ category said that they use low & no to regulate their total alcohol consumption. In other words, still having the same enjoyment and experience but with a slightly clearer head and less of a hangover in the morning. This trend is more prevalent with the younger generation, with as many as one in four doing so.
As far as premiumisation goes, the biggest trend in behaviour has seen shoppers drinking on more occasions but having fewer drinks on each occasion. In essence, we have seen a premiumisation of the drinking experience. Beer drinking has become a little and often treat as consumers trade up and, as a consequence, seek out more variety in what they buy and, indeed, where they buy it from.
IPAs have seen the biggest increase in consumption by these drinkers (28% saying they’ve drunk more) during lockdown. Pale Ales (21% more) and Lagers (21% more) are also seeing significant consumption increases. Some eight in 10 of these ‘beer enthusiasts’ have been drinking online with their mates during lockdown as a way to replace their traditional pub meet-ups, but interestingly half of them will continue to do so even after the pubs have opened.
Suppliers and retailers need to understand the dynamics at play and ensure that they include these online hangout occasions as part of their ‘Big Night In’ marketing mix because for many drinkers (both premium and alcohol-free) they have not just become a stop-gap until the pubs open, they have become an acceptable and enjoyable part of their everyday social lives. Focussing on a core range that offers both variety within the alcohol-free and premium ranges is therefore key when it comes to tapping into this new breed of ‘Big Night In’ shoppers. And that’s before we even get to associated categories…
SOURCES: KAM MEDIA LOW & NO ALCOHOL REPORT / KAM MEDIA &BREWLDN BEER ENTHUSIASTS, THE IMPACT OF LOCKDOWN REPORT.
FASTSTATS
55% of consumers are still not planning on visiting a pub or restaurant and won’t be doing so for some time
One in six consumers use ‘low & no alcohol’ drinks to regulate their alcohol consumption
One in four younger consumers use ‘low & no alcohol’ drinks to regulate their alcohol consumption
IPAs (28% up), Pale Ales (21% up) and Lagers (21% up) have seen increased penetration by beer drinkers
80% of ‘beer enthusiasts’ have drinking sessions with their mates online during lockdown as a way to replace their traditional pub meet-ups; half of them will continue to do so even after the pubs have opened.
