Another 33% of the drinkers who drink 8-21 glasses a week, or an average of 2-3 per day, account for 34% of all alcohol consumed and the remaining 50% of drinkers account for only 14% of the volume.

Share of drinkers and share of volume


Source: Roy Morgan Single Source October 2007 — September 2009. Respondents aged 14+ who have consumed alcohol in the last 7 days.

Heavy drinkers; those who drink on average more than 3 drinks per day are more likely to be males aged 18-35, single and over-represented among tradesmen and earning a good income. Their social habits are skewed towards going to sporting events, gambling either on track, at the TAB or online, they go to nightclubs, play the pokies and even go shopping more than the average Australian although it’s for music and hardware rather than groceries or clothing.

Their media habits are different to the average too being a little less likely to heavy TV viewers, magazine readers and cinema goers, and slightly more likely to be heavy newspaper readers, Internet users and commercial radio listeners.

Norman Woodcock, Business Development Director, says:

“Just over half (53%) of all the alcohol consumed in Australia is consumed by 17% of drinkers who drink over 21 glasses of alcohol a week, or an average of  more than 3 drinks per day. What’s also important is that we are able to understand who those heavy drinkers are and the lifestyle they lead.

“Geography also plays a part with more heavy drinkers per head of population in Western Australia and in Queensland and less in Victoria and New South Wales, but it’s not only a state by state difference, we are seeing more heavy drinkers in the rural areas and smaller towns rather than in capital cities.”

Click here to purchase detailed Roy Morgan Target Profiles of different types of drinkers.

These profile provide a broad understanding of the different drinkers in terms of demographics, attitudes, activities and media usage in Australia.


For more details contact:

info@roymorganonlinestore.com