Alcohol Shipments Hit 27-Year Low Since IMF Crisis

Domestic liquor shipments fell to their lowest level in 27 years since the foreign exchange crisis, recording 2.988 million kiloliters last year, as consumer sentiment froze amid an economic slowdown and high prices following the pandemic. According to National Tax Service statistics, liquor shipments decreased by more than 5% from the previous year. By category, beer dropped by more than 7% from a year earlier, while sojo also fell by nearly 3%. Makgeolli has been declining for five consecutive years.

Consumer perceptions regarding alcohol are shifting. Some consumers are cutting back on drinking for health reasons. Surveys indicate that both the frequency of drinking and the amount consumed per occasion are decreasing. The culture of drinking to get drunk is transitioning toward drinking for enjoyment.

As liquor consumption continues to decline at large supermarkets, retailers have launched discount campaigns offering lower prices for bulk purchases of stacked beer and soju to attract customers.

Lee Eun-hee, a professor of consumer studies at Inha University, analyzed that "as consumers who prefer non-alcoholic beverages increase, the release of non-alcoholic products is a strategy to prepare for the decline in liquor sales."