Underage drinking has fallen to record lows, according to new findings from NHS Digital. Data from the group shows that the proportion of 8-15 year olds reporting ever having had an alcoholic drink has fallen 67% since 2003, and data to 2016 shows this is now at a record low. In 2003, 45% of 8-15 year olds reported that they had tried an alcoholic drink,…

An off-trade clampdown on underage sales appears to be working as the number of 11 to 15-year-olds that reported purchasing alcohol from retailers fell to an all-time low. New data released by NHS Digital shows that when children managed to obtain alcohol, 10% purchased it at an off-licence and 8% bought it at a supermarket. The NHS surveyed more than 12,000 pupils in 177 schools…

Retailers sold alcohol to nearly one in six teenage mystery shoppers in 2016 without asking for proof of age, according to new data from Serve Legal.  The retail age check auditor said its testers, all of whom are young-looking 18 and 19-year-olds, undertook nearly 43,000 alcohol sales tests in supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol stations across the UK in 2016. …

Under Age Sales, the Stockport-based social enterprise, has established a new partnership with Retail Guardian, a software system which aids retailers in the clampdown on sales of age restricted products. Retail Guardian, which launched in May, was initially designed to enable shop owners to monitor the behaviour and productivity of staff via time-keeping, time management and payroll tools. However, developments of the software will now…

Retailers have been warned to be especially vigilant when checking IDs as more than 700,000 students aged 15-16 prepare to celebrate GCSE results week. Social enterprise group Under Age Sales polled 1,000 Year 11 students and found that 45% admitted they planned to drink this week. A third said they would ask a family member or friend to buy alcohol for them, while 1 in…

The UK’s leading grocers, symbol groups and a host of convenience stores have signed up to a best practice guide hailed as “an unprecedented collaborations between retailers”. The Retail of Alcohol Standards Group guidance document includes common practice for promotions, staff training, ID schemes and relationships with police forces and council officers. Tesco’s Hardish Purewal, chairman of the Retail of Alcohol Standards Group, said: “Retailers…

Bargain Booze is launching an app called As If It Wasn’t Cheap Enough to offer customers exclusive deals and competitions. The mobile loyalty scheme represents parent company Conviviality Retail’s largest-ever investment in digital marketing and is designed to drive footfall for franchisees. Each shopper gets a personal customer ID which they he or she can use to redeem points at the till, and the firm…