Customers are more likely to trial new products in on-premise markets, according to a recent On Premise Consumer Pulse Report by CGA by NielsenIQ.

The On Premise Consumer Pulse Reports are monthly reports which provide insights into customer behaviours in the Australian on-premise market.

In an episode of Beer is a Conversation, CGA by NielsenIQ client solutions director ANZ James Phillips delved into various trends outlined in the September report, including the importance of on premises to creating consumer value.

“It’s a really interesting balance in Australia, because roughly 70 per cent of sales actually go through the off-trade and not through the on-premise,” he explained.

“But what consumers do have in the on-premise is a much deeper and richer experience with drinks.”

It’s this experience, Phillip explained, that drives customers to buy products, in order to recreate experiences at home.

“I think it’s something like 62 per cent of consumers would say they would retry it if they enjoyed the drink in the on-premise,” he said.

“But actually we see the flow of people who really enjoyed that experience going back into the off-trade and project to produce that experience for themselves at home.”

Having a strong presence in the on-premise is important for brands to win over new customers, according to Phillips.

“If you’re launching new products, finding those consumers where they’re willing and open to experiment is really important and getting that trial from them to be able to win with the brand overall,” he said.

“Because of the rich experiences, they have the ability to build that brand equity with them as well in the on-premise.”

Another area of focus within the report was the growth of NoLo and whether customers were driven to buy these products in the on-premise space.

Phillips explained that while the NoLo data is driven by “loyal” consumers, it’s also seeing a significant drop in penetration numbers.

“What we find when we drill into the low, NoLo data here in Australia as well is that we’re seeing sort of really strong, loyal consumers,” he said.

“So the people who are looking to moderate, and they’re moderating through no alcohol; abstaining, finding products that are zero alcohol so there’s definitely a space for that.

“But then we’re also seeing this big portion of rejecters, and it’s across a bunch of other markets as well, I think it was even more significant in New Zealand, actually, where there’s a huge percentage of them.

“So people are looking, I think, for health and wellbeing through moderation and moderation doesn’t necessarily mean zero, or abstaining.

“I also look at the value perspective of NoLo and sometimes I see it in that the price differential between NoLo and alcoholics can be quite small.

“So it’s become a big segment and it’s definitely something that suppliers are talking about.

“But whether that’s going to be a real gross area in the future, who knows, but we’re actually seeing kind of the opposite at the moment, here in the on-premise.”

You can find the full On Premise Consumer Pulse Report here.

Listen to the full Beer is a Conversation with James Phillips below.