IWSR: Gen Z interest in Dry January fading
Data from the latest IWSR Bevtrac survey shows sober months are becoming less prevalent with Gen Z as moderation habits evolve.
The latest Bevtrac survey measured consumer behaviour in 15 markets between autumn 2024 and autumn 2025. It revealed interest in ‘month-long abstinence spells’, such as Sober October and Dry January, has dipped with Gen Z legal drinking age (LDA) drinkers.
IWSR defines Gen Z as those over LDA and below the age of 28.
In the UK, the number of Gen Z drinkers who avoided alcohol for a month in the period fell from 33% to 25%. In Australia, meanwhile, the total dropped from 39% to 24%. In France, there was a decline from 32% to 24%, in Italy from 26% to 16%, and in Brazil from 39% to 35%.
The figure in the US was flat, from 32% to 31%, while sober months in Mexico increased from 31% to 35%.
Across all 15 markets combined, month-long abstinence among Gen Z LDA+ drinkers fell from 30% to 28%.
The markets surveyed were: the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, South Africa, India, China, Japan, Taiwan and Australia.
IWSR president and managing director Marten Lodewijks said: “Temporary abstinence appears to be less central to moderation strategies than it once was. This is especially the case among Gen Z LDA+ drinkers, who have always been its most enthusiastic adopters.
“Moderation is still an important trend across the entire beverage alcohol industry, but performative abstinence periods are less of the driving force they once were. Instead, consumers moderate by drinking less often and, when they do drink, they tend to drink less.
“This is partly driven by shifting attitudes and social trends, but it’s clear that declining disposable income is also a key factor.”
Drinking rate gap at its lowest
The number of Gen Z respondents who reported drinking in the past six months was 74%, while for older drinkers, the amount was 77%. The 3% gap is the smallest the survey has ever recorded.
In comparison, 66% of Gen Z respondents reported drinking in the past six months in spring 2023. The gap between Gen Z and older ages was then 9%.
For all adults, 39% of respondents registered temporary abstinence for one day or longer in the past six months from autumn 2025. In spring 2025, the rate was 41% and in autumn 2024, it was 40%.
While IWSR noted that Millennials (between 29 and 44) are still the age bracket most engaged with alcohol, ‘several moderation trends are emerging’.
In this age group, 81% reported having consumed alcohol in the past six months. This figure was down from 83% in spring. The figure is the lowest rate of participation in beverage alcohol among Millennials ever recorded by the Bevtrac tool.
American millennials were found to be more likely to drink at home rather than out. Those citing an on-trade venue as their most recent drinking occasion fell from 41% in autumn 2024 to 35% in autumn 2025.
Additionally, American Millennials are now drinking a smaller range of categories, with an average of 1.8 categories per alcohol occasion in autumn 2025 compared with 2.8 in autumn 2023.
“Gen Z LDA+ continues to converge with the general population when it comes to drinking habits. We expect the already small gap to shrink further as more of Gen Z enters the full-time workforce,” Lodewijks added.
“American Millennial drinkers are becoming more likely to stay home with friends and family to drink than to go out to bars, clubs and restaurants. This is likely being driven by wider affordability issues – but, with the oldest Millennials in our survey turning 44, it may also just be the result of entering middle age.”
Research from Alcohol Change UK revealed 15.5 million Brits were planning to go booze-free last Dry January. Data gathered by pub owner and brewer Greene King, however, found that many felt the concept was ‘outdated‘.
In June, following new findings from IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, Richard Halstead, IWSR COO of consumer insights, said: “Moderation has been a growing trend among all drinkers for several years, but the idea that Gen Z LDA-plus drinkers are somehow fundamentally different from other age groups isn’t supported by the evidence.”
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