A survey has confirmed what many Australians already knew: a large percentage of the population cannot socialise without alcohol.
It’s common knowledge that alcohol is fairly engrained in the Australian culture, and back in August the London Telegraph even published a how-to guide on surviving Australian social situations, entitled Beer, meat and sheilas… surviving Australia’s Great Sacred BBQ.
“The Australian BBQ can be a challenging rite of passage for expats,” it reads.
“On arrival, the most important part about the greeting process is when your host eyes up your Esky,” David Taylor writes from personal experience.
“Oh yes – Esky. This is not a fur-swathed friend from that territory in the top corner of Alaska where inhabitants dwell in Igloos, but a chilled container in which you bring all your consumable goodies.”
Now, a survey by Canstar Blue has confirmed the qualitative data, revealing over 60 per cent of people drink alcohol at the majority of social functions they attend.
“The results show loud and clear that the majority of Australians socialise with a drink in their hand,” Canstar Blue Manager Rebecca Logan said.
And even more unsurprising, Gen Y are the biggest drinkers, with almost 70 per cent saying they drink at most of their social functions, compared to 63 per cent of Generation X and 60 per cent of Baby Boomers.
“The survey also cemented the fact that the public fascination with all things organic is spreading to the alcohol market, with 1 in 10 respondents purchasing organic alcohol in the past twelve months,” Logan said.
Victorian respondents were twice as likely to have purchased organic alcohol than South Australians, and Gen Y was twice as likely than baby boomers to do the same, the survey found.
The results also confirmed a almost 50 per cent of Australians buy alcohol in bulk to stretch their dollar further.
One in four has bought alcohol online, with twice as many Baby Boomers purchasing online as compared with Generation Y.
Dan Murphy’s alcohol superstores, which have taken off around the country, are the favourite of most Aussies, coming in well before BWS, Woolworths Liquor and Vintage Cellars for shopping satisfaction.
“It seems customers are responding well to Dan Murphy’s ‘lowest liquor price guarantee’, rating the brand as number one in the category of price along with every other category: overall satisfaction, range of products, service and specials,” Logan explained.
Tellingly, the homepage of the Australian BBQ Society’s website has a poll asking what the best beer to drink while barbequing is.
Image: NT News