What do we know about Gen Z alcohol spending patterns compared to other generations?

Gen Z spending on alcohol as a proportion of disposable income is comparable to other generational cohorts, though the narrative in mainstream media often misrepresents this data. Key context:

- **Age range**: Gen Z currently spans ages 12–27, meaning a significant portion are still underage and have lower disposable income overall, which skews aggregate figures downward - **Spending proportion**: Members cite data from Barclays Investment Bank showing Gen Z spends similarly to other cohorts *as a proportion of their income*, not in absolute terms - **Demographic complexity**: There are more abstainers within Gen Z, but spending data among drinkers are comparable to millennials and previous generations - **Media gap**: Press coverage often portrays Gen Z as mostly non-drinkers, which doesn't match the actual spending data members have accessed

Caveats: The Barclays data cited is not publicly available; members have referenced it from internal contacts. Reported figures suggest Gen Z may spend the same or slightly more than millennials on alcohol, but this requires contextualising the higher proportion of underage members and abstainers within the generation.