Understanding purchasing patterns of alcoholic, alcohol-free and low-alcohol drinks: A latent profile analysis

Alcohol-free and low-alcohol (no/lo) drinks (≤1.2% ABV) are increasingly popular in high-income countries. Their potential to reduce alcohol-related harm depends on who buys them, in what quantity and their incorporation into overall drinking patterns. We aimed to (1) compare purchases containing only no/lo drinks, only alcoholic drinks or both, over time between 2018 and 2023; (2) identify subgroups with distinct purchasing patterns in 2023; and (3) describe sociodemographic differences between these subgroups.

Latent profile analysis of cross-sectional household purchasing data.

Great Britain, 2018 and 2023.

Nationally representative samples of 30 401 (2018) and 28 254 (2023) households. 4975 households purchasing no/lo drinks in 2023 were included in the latent profile analysis.

Data included off-trade (i.e. shop) purchasing occasions categorised into no/lo-only, alcohol-only or no/lo alongside alcohol. Household characteristics were purchasing frequency, standard servings of no/lo drinks per adult, alcohol risk levels based on weekly units of alcohol purchased per adult (non-drinker: 0 units; low-risk: ≤14 units; increasing risk: >14- ≤ 35 units; high-risk: >35 units; 1 unit = 8 g alcohol), age, social class, region and ethnicity.

From 2018 to 2023, the proportion of purchasing occasions that were alcohol-only fell from 97% [95% confidence interval (CI) = 97%-97%] to 95% (95% CI = 95%-95%), while no/lo-only purchases rose from 1.4% (95% CI = 1.3%-1.4%) to 2.7% (95% CI = 2.7%-2.8%) and no/lo alongside alcohol purchases rose from 1.2% (95% CI = 1.2%-1.2%) to 1.9% (95% CI = 1.9%-2.0%). In 2023, no/lo-only purchases were smaller (median = 6.9 no/lo servings) than no/lo alongside alcohol purchases (median = 6.5 plus 24.5 alcohol units) and alcohol-only purchases (median = 24.6 units). No/lo-only purchases occurred earlier in the week, no/lo alongside alcohol purchases peaked on Fridays and Saturdays. Latent profile analysis identified three classes: no/lo triers (53%) averaged 2.1 no/lo servings per adult annually with 95% purchasing no or low-risk levels of alcohol; occasional purchasers (34%) averaged 7.5 servings with 20% purchasing alcohol at increasing or high-risk levels; dual purchasers (13%) averaged 37.8 servings with 39% purchasing alcohol at increasing or high-risk levels. Dual purchasers and occasional purchasers were more likely to be older [60% (P < 0.001) and 54% (P = 0.010) aged ≤55 years, respectively] and white [both 97% (P = 0.014 and P = 0.0074, respectively)] compared with no/lo triers (49% aged ≤55 years, 94% white).

In Great Britain, most households that purchase no/lo drinks appear to do so infrequently and purchase alcohol at low-risk levels; however, a smaller group of older, higher-risk households purchase no/lo drinks more frequently.