What Makes Customers Pick A Nonalcoholic Drink
Each week I post a single survey question on the nonrocaholic Instagram to gain a bit of insight about how people make decisions about nonalcoholic beverages. This week, I wanted to know what might make customers pick a nonalcoholic drink while at a bar or restaurant. The results heavily favored one answer, and while I expected that answer to be selected the most, I didn’t expect the disparity between that and the second most popular vote.
The question was: What would make you order an NA drink at a bar or restaurant?
Instagram only allows for three choices, and I always make it option to abstain from voting to see the results. (I do this in case people want to engage, but the question doesn’t apply to their habits.)
The options were:
- Bartender recommendation
- Good looking menu
- Priced lower than alcoholic drinks
Results
Out of 93 total respondents, 54% said that a good looking menu made them order a non-alcoholic drink. Then 20% said that price impacted their decisions. Just 12% said they’d rely on the bartender’s recommendation.
The remaining 14% elected to just view the results.
Note: Respondents of course are followers of nonrocaholic on Instagram and who happened to see this Instastory when it was available. The survey’s results don’t necessarily reflect a wide range of consumers, though may be indicative of a larger polling group.
Discussion
There are a lot of restaurants that just simply write on a menu that if a patron wants a nonalcoholic drink to just ask. There’s a bunch of problems with that, but what this particular survey shows is that more than half of respondents want to be able to read what’s available right on the menu. That means, if it’s not on the menu, maybe they’re among those who would ask a bartender (or wait staff), but instead they may just choose a cheap option like soda, or even stick with water.
People wanting nonalcoholic options could always ask. We’re experienced enough in knowing how to ask if a bartender can make a Moscow Mule without the alcohol. Plus, if the menu says, “we can make most of our cocktails as nonalcoholic versions” there are some questions I’d want to know before ordering. If I’m ordering an Old Fashioned as a nonalcoholic drink, did they just simply leave the whiskey out? If so, I’d basically be drinking bitters with sweetener and water. Or, do you have a nonalcoholic whiskey alternative to use?
If you just simply list the nonalcoholic drinks your staff can make, then consumers can make an educated decision about what they’d like. If not, you could be creating a speed bump in the selection process your patrons are making when they order.
