While the moderation trend is significant, nuances and motivations vary around the world, the IWSR has found. 

Richard Halstead, COO of consumer insights at IWSR, explained that claimed spending on alcohol generally continues to shrink because of “embedded moderation” and persistent economic pressures. 

This is especially true, he noted, in Canada, South Africa, China and the US. However, the trend is broader than just those markets. 

Across the top 15 markets, 22% of legal drinking age consumers have abstained from alcohol completely over the past six months, down from 25% in April 2023 but up from 21% in March 2024. 

The more common moderation trend, however, is partial abstinence. Across the same 15 markets, surveyed by Bevtrac, 41% of consumers said they’d abstained from alcohol for a period in the last six months, up from 39% the previous year. 

Looking at trends in various countries, this number rose from 53% to 58% in South Africa and from 22% to 26% in Asia-Pacific. Meanwhile, in Europe, the increase was from 34% to 36%. 

In Spain, 56% of millennials reported pausing their drinking for a period, up from 42% a year ago. 

“Temporary abstinence as a form of regulating alcohol intake is very common and has gained in popularity in the majority of markets over the past year, with younger drinkers most likely to abstain periodically,” explained Halstead. 

With the exceptions of India and China, the proportion of light drinkers appears to have increased across the top 15 markets. However, this number now seems to be stabilising. 

North America has recorded a notable increase in light drinkers, with the proportion moving from 39% to 44% over the last 12 months. 

Despite being known as leaders in alcohol consumption, Gen X across the world has an increasing number of light drinkers, rising from 16% to 24% over the past year. 

In contrast, while Gen Z have garnered a reputation for being moderate, their consumption has increased compared to April 2023. 

By country, Germany has the largest number of total abstainers, while the US has the highest number of ‘occasional’ moderators, who tend to partake in moderation challenges. The same is true of the UK. 

Overall, the IWSR said: “While the moderation trend is constantly evolving and becoming more nuanced, it is now an established part of the beverage alcohol marketplace – and it looks set to remain that way.”