Beer, Wine & Spirits is one of the most context-driven categories in grocery. Shoppers rarely enter the aisle thinking in brands or SKUs. They arrive with an occasion, a mood, or a constraint in mind - tonight, the weekend, guests, gifting, unwinding, moderation.
Alcohol purchases are often intentional, but rarely rigid. In the VST Value Tracker, Beer/Wine/Spirits sits in the “mostly planned” camp: 67% say purchases are completely or mostly planned (Sept 2025). That’s high intent, but it doesn’t mean fixed choice. Many trips are planned at an occasion level (“get wine for dinner”), but not locked to a specific brand or SKU.
This flexibility has become more commercially important under sustained value pressure. In the VST Value Tracker (Sept 2025), 71% cite cost of living as a top concern, and 75% say price/value drives where they shop. At the same time, shoppers are not simply buying the cheapest option: 56% say they’d rather spend more for better quality (Feb 2025), while 47% say they try to buy the cheapest products on shelf (Sept 2025). That tension between trading-down in some moments and trading-up in others is exactly the environment BWS teams are operating in.
This category review brings together the behavioural patterns that shape alcohol decision-making and the strategy questions that matter most for CPG teams navigating growth, innovation, and retailer conversations.
1. Alcohol Is Planned, But Only at the Occasion Level
BWS is not a spontaneous category in the way snacks or confectionery can be. Planning levels support that: Beer/Wine/Spirits is consistently more planned than the average grocery category in the Value Tracker.
But “planned” doesn’t mean predetermined. Alcohol planning typically happens at the level of:
- an occasion (“something for tonight”)
- a role (“something to bring”)
- a constraint (“under £X”, “lower alcohol”, “needs to please everyone”)
That’s why the shelf matters. When shoppers have a mission but lack certainty, they use the fixture to resolve the decision quickly. If the shelf makes it easy to translate occasion into choice, decisions accelerate. If it doesn’t, shoppers default, switch, or abandon.
Strategy implication: treat BWS less like a replenishment aisle and more like a decision engine - the fixture is where intent gets converted, not where people simply “pick up what they always buy”.
2. Shoppers Navigate by Occasion, Not by Subcategory
In BWS, shoppers don’t naturally think in beer vs wine vs spirits first. They think in use cases:
- weekday / tonight
- weekend / socialising
- hosting / gifting
- unwinding / reward
- moderation / control
These occasions cut across subcategories, and that’s why switching is high. A shopper might enter looking for “something nice for dinner” and leave with beer, wine, or a ready-to-drink option depending on what feels most fitting, most reassuring, or best value.
This is also where no/low starts to reshape the category, not as a simple alternative, but as a new kind of occasion logic (more on that below).
Where RTD Fits In
Ready-to-drink (RTD) illustrates how occasion-led navigation plays out in practice. Shoppers don’t approach RTD as a subcategory; they arrive at it when it best matches the moment they’re shopping for. RTDs don’t map cleanly to beer, wine or spirits in the shopper’s mind. Instead, they sit at the intersection of occasion, immediacy and moderation.
For some shoppers, RTD solves a tonight or on-the-way mission - something cold, convenient and low-effort. For others, it’s a later occasion - socialising, relaxing, or replacing a traditional drink with something lighter or easier.
This creates a strategic question many retailers and brands haven’t fully resolved:
Does RTD belong at the front of store or within the main alcohol aisle - or both? And for which stores?
Behaviourally, placement sends a signal. Front-of-store cues immediacy and impulse. Back-of-store cues intent, legitimacy and equivalence with beer, wine or spirits. Shoppers respond differently depending on which signal they receive.
Strategy implication: winning in BWS is often about winning the occasion, not just defending a subcategory.
3. Value Pressure Changes How Alcohol Is Chosen
In the Value Tracker (Sept 2025):
- 73% of shoppers are always on the lookout for money-off promotions
- 69% say they shop around to get the best priced items
- 63% look for multi-buy promotions
- and 75% say price/value drives store choice
In BWS, that shows up as a search for justification and reassurance, not simply the lowest price. Alcohol is emotionally loaded - it’s tied to identity, hosting, gifting, and social expectations. Even when shoppers are budget-conscious, they still want to feel they’ve made a “good” choice.
You can see this in the Value Tracker tension:
- 56% would rather spend more for better quality
- but 47% try to buy the cheapest products on shelf
Some occasions are about minimising risk (“safe choice”), others are about minimising spend (“just need something”). The job of shelf strategy is to help shoppers resolve those trade-offs fast.
Strategy implication: don’t treat “value” as a single segment. Build for multiple value mindsets - bargain, reassurance, permission, and trade-up.
4. Branded Still Leads, But Own Label Sets the Value Frame
Alcohol is not a category where own-label “wins” outright in the same way as staples. That’s partly because the perceived downside of getting it wrong is higher - taste, occasion-fit, and social risk matter more than in most grocery aisles. Shoppers use brands as shorthand for reassurance, especially when buying for other people, gifting, or trading up.
In the Value Tracker, Beer/Wine/Spirits remains predominantly branded, with 55.4% of shoppers saying they buy branded (Aug 2024) rising to 58.7% (Feb 2025). Own label is lower but growing - 16.7% (Aug 2024) to 22.7% (Feb 2025) - suggesting value pressure is pulling more shoppers into retailer propositions.
The more interesting shift is what happens to “mixing”, ie. those who say they buy both branded and own label fall from 27.9% (Aug 2024) to 17.3% (Feb 2025). That drop suggests shoppers are becoming more decisive in how they approach the category, either leaning into branded cues for confidence, or leaning into own label for value, rather than flexing between the two within the same shopping mindset.
What this means for CPG strategy: it’s not enough to assume “brand will defend itself”. Branded has to clearly justify its role (quality, occasion-fit, reassurance), because own label is expanding, and the middle ground is shrinking.
5. Promotions Act as Behavioural Permission (Not Just Savings)
Promotions matter in every grocery category, but in alcohol they often help to legitimise the purchase.
When shoppers are value-conscious, they are not only trying to save money. They are trying to feel confident that their decision is sensible. Promotions reduce internal friction, particularly for:
- trade-up moments (a “nicer bottle”)
- unfamiliar choices
- hosting and gifting decisions
- multi-buy / stocking-up missions
And because promotion-seeking behaviour is consistently high (Value Tracker: 73% always look for money off), promotions are not just a lever, they are part of how many shoppers navigate the category.
Strategy implication: the role of promos is as much about confidence and permission as it is about price. How you frame a deal can change behaviour, not just volume.
6. No/Low Alcohol Isn’t a Substitute, It’s a New Mission
No/low is reshaping alcohol behaviour because it solves different missions:
- moderation without exclusion
- weekday socialising
- “control” moments (fitness, work, driving, energy)
- participation without consequences
The behavioural challenge is that shoppers don’t have stable mental models for how to evaluate no/low. They’re often deciding on the fly:
- Is this a functional choice or a taste choice?
- Is it comparable to full-strength, or a different proposition?
- What’s the “right” occasion for it?
Under value pressure, no/low can be even more sensitive. Shoppers are scanning for value and justification; if no/low doesn’t clearly signal purpose and benefit, it risks being overlooked, misunderstood, or seen as poor value versus alternatives.
Strategy implication: no/low wins when it is anchored to a clear mission and made easy to interpret, not when it’s treated as a simple extension of the main block.
7. Why BWS Is High Risk for Assumption-Led Decisions
BWS is a category where assumptions break quickly because:
- occasions overlap across subcategories
- switching is easy and socially acceptable
- perceived risk is real (wasting money, choosing “wrong” for guests)
- value scrutiny is intense
- regulation and retailer constraints limit flexibility
Small mismatches between shelf logic and shopper logic can shift choices in ways teams don’t anticipate.
Strategy implication: BWS doesn’t reward “set and forget”. It rewards evidence-led clarity around the occasions you’re trying to win.
8. What BWS Teams Should Be Testing Next
High-performing teams typically explore questions such as:
Occasion structuring
- Which occasions are most dominant in this retailer context?
- Where do shoppers naturally blur between beer, wine, spirits and no/low?
RTD strategy
- Where do shoppers expect RTD to live - front-of-store, alcohol aisle, or both?
- How does chilled vs ambient placement change intent and value perception?
Promotion framing
- When does a deal reassure versus cheapen?
- Which cues accelerate decision-making under value pressure?
No/low strategy
- Which missions are genuinely incremental?
- What context helps shoppers interpret no/low quickly?
Pack, format and ABV signalling
- What signals reduce perceived risk for hesitant shoppers?
- Which formats support trade-up vs trade-down missions?
Branded vs own label dynamics
- What cues reinforce branded quality and suitability?
- Where does own label set the “value frame” for the whole shelf?
Testing these questions gives teams a retailer-ready story grounded in observed behaviour, not assumption, and helps avoid changes that look logical on paper but fail in real shopper journeys.
How Behavioural Shelf Testing Strengthens Alcohol Sell-In
Retailers expect evidence-based reasoning in categories as commercially significant and sensitive as BWS. Shoppers are scrutiny-led - price-aware, promotion-attentive, and balancing value with quality.
Behavioural shelf testing allows CPG teams to demonstrate:
- how shoppers actually navigate alcohol decisions
- where confidence builds or breaks down
- how structure influences switching and choice
- how no/low can unlock new occasions
- how recommendations strengthen performance without destabilising core missions
In a category defined by context, permission, and value tension, behavioural evidence turns strategy into confidence, and confidence into stronger retail conversations.
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