Quebecers are rethinking their drinking habits, reveals a portrait of habits

Quebecers are rethinking their consumption of alcohol, not to deprive themselves, but to make better choices. These are the findings of the ‘A3 Index’, which paints a picture of consumer habits and preferences based on the results of a Léger survey commissioned by A3, a group of 85 wine, beer and spirits agencies.

“Habits are changing. In fact, people are consuming better, but not necessarily more. They are sensitive to different criteria or different elements on products, such as origin, environmental certifications, sugar levels and alcohol content. So they consume differently,” says A3 Managing Director Catherine Lessard.

She points out that this finding is ‘in line with the trends observed by the SAQ: “consumers are drinking in a more considered way, looking for quality products.”

The survey results show that quality is the most important factor (82 per cent) after price (88 per cent). As for the country of origin, this criterion is considered important by 57 per cent of customers.

This is the second year that this collective has asked the public for their opinion. This time, questions on environmental and health factors were added.

The findings show that more than a third of Quebecers assiduously check the sugar content of their bottles of alcohol (35 per cent), while almost half (49 per cent) check the alcohol content for health reasons.

For environmental reasons, a minority of people systematically check whether the products they buy are organic (18 per cent).

The A3 Index also confirms the decisive role played by recommendations and human interaction in decision-making. Half of the Quebecers surveyed said they get information about products from family or friends, and 30 per cent from in-store advisers.

In addition to the opinions of others, concrete experience plays a key role: tasting is a means of obtaining information for 22 per cent of respondents.

Women are more influenced by the human factor. They put more trust than men in the people around them (57 per cent) and in the advice they receive in shops (35 per cent).

Lessard is delighted to learn that “advice, recommendations and tasting have a major influence on consumer decisions” and that “human contact and discussions with a specialist are very important when it comes to choosing products.”

Another finding is that the older we get, the less daring we become. People aged 65 and over are more likely than their younger counterparts to go for the tried-and-tested rather than products they’ve never tried. As a general rule, “classics” attract 87 per cent of customers.

At the same time, A3 puts into perspective the 3 per cent fall in volume sales at the SAQ in the 2024-2025 financial year.

“There are falling alcohol sales all over the world, but we can see that people really want to drink better. Quality comes before quantity. The agencies are there to support this transformation with a relevant and responsible offer,” says Lessard.

“There’s a lot of talk about the decline in consumption, but I think we also need to think about how people consume, and see it as a change rather than a decline,” she adds.

It remains to be seen whether these changes will last. “Over the years, by redoing the survey and adding certain questions, we’ll probably see some changes. It’s still early, after two years, to draw any major conclusions, but it does draw attention to trends that we’ll have to monitor.”

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews