A Pole “in rehab”? Shocking data on alcohol spending

Every fourth Pole no longer buys alcohol at all, even on holidays. And among the rest, the declarations differ from the actual expenses, definitely to the detriment of the alcohol sector – informs “Rzeczpospolita” in its Friday edition.

The alcohol market is still by far the largest category on the broadly understood food market. It is worth over PLN 50 billion annually. However, it has been shrinking in terms of quantity for several years. Poles limit their purchases of this type of products, which is confirmed by subsequent consumer surveys. The reasons are both financial and health-related – according to a study for Shopfully Poland, the results of which were first reported to “Rzeczpospolita”.

The study asked consumers how much they wanted to spend on alcohol on the occasion of Easter, and later verified it by asking how much they actually spent. “It turned out that 43.8% of consumers planned to spend up to PLN 150 on alcohol before Easter, but ultimately this group included as many as 54.4% of consumers,” the newspaper writes.

Among consumers who declared spending higher amounts on drinks before the holidays, there are declines, often even almost 50%, when comparing the actual expenses incurred with the announcements.

Robert Biegaj from Shopfully Poland pointed out an almost identical percentage of people who did not spend anything on alcohol or did not consume it: 22.3 before Christmas and 22.4 percent. after they are finished. “This shows the stability of attitudes. Decisions to give up alcohol are most often made earlier and do not change under the influence of the holiday atmosphere,” he told the newspaper.

In the opinion of Joanna Dolęga-Semczuk, member of the management board of Henkell Freixenet Polska, “The analysis of consumer behavior before and after Easter clearly confirms the continuing trend of significantly reducing alcohol consumption.” (PAP)

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