Alcoholic beverages market in Australia - statistics & facts

From premium wines and artisanal spirits to craft beers and ciders, Australia’s consumers have long preferred locally produced craft and premium alcohol products. Low-alcohol and alcohol-free wine and beer alternatives have been gaining traction as consumers increasingly moderate their alcohol consumption. Today, the country’s alcohol market remains relatively stable, with a world-leading wine market. However, with consumers cutting back on discretionary spending and Australia’s wine industry experiencing several issues recently, the question arises: Could Australia’s most successful alcoholic beverages segment be dethroned, or will wine experience a comeback?

What is Australia’s favorite alcoholic beverage?

Wine is the most consumed alcoholic drink and the most successful segment of Australia’s alcoholic beverages market. Australia is one of the leading exporters of wine worldwide and ranks fifth globally in terms of wine production, with South Australia at the heart of the country’s wine industry. Australian wine producer and distributor, Treasury Wine Estates, is recognized as one of the world’s largest and most successful wine companies. Penfolds, a brand operating under TWE, was named Australia’s most valuable alcohol brand in 2023.

From full-strength to non-alcoholic beer

On the wine industry’s heels, the country’s beer market, which has been shifting away from full-strength toward mid-strength and low-strength beers, recorded a revenue exceeding 12 billion Australian dollars in 2023. Independent breweries and mainstream beer brands, such as Coopers, XXXX, VB, and Tooheys, populate Australia’s beer scene, with beer enthusiasts countrywide exhibiting a strong preference for unique craft pints. Non- and low-alcohol beer has also been trending. In 2020, only around 15 percent of Australia’s craft beer drinkers reported consuming alcohol-free beer, with this increasing to over 30 percent in 2022.

Is RTD consumption on the rise?

Ready-to-drink beverages (RTDs) have witnessed a significant growth in popularity over the past few years due to their convenience, with almost double the number of people consuming RTDs in Australia in 2023 compared to pre-pandemic levels. With consumers becoming more health-conscious, interest in low-alcohol and non-alcoholic RTD, wine, and beer alternatives, as well as mocktails, is also growing.

Are Australians shopping for alcohol in-store or online?

While brick-and-mortar retailing remains the preferred channel for consumers purchasing alcohol, the online alcohol retailing segment has been slowly eating away at the offline sales share. Australia's supermarket rivals, Woolworths and Coles, dominate the country’s alcoholic beverages retail sector, online and offline. In 2020, the Endeavour Group was formed, a group spun off from Woolworths, which operates liquor store chains Dan Murphys and BWS, with Coles operating the Liquorland and First Choice Liquor chains. While the Coles liquor brands have found success in physical retail outlets, as of 2022, Endeavour took a 46.4 percent share of Australia’s online liquor market. Due to ineffective processes to ensure alcohol is not sold to people who are intoxicated or underage, Australia’s online alcohol sales policies have come under scrutiny, with several states planning policy revisions.
This text provides general information. Statista assumes no liability for the information given being complete or correct. Due to varying update cycles, statistics can display more up-to-date data than referenced in the text.
Published by Statista Research Department, Mar 27, 2024

Key insights

Most popular alcoholic drink in Australia
Wine
Per capita alcohol consumption trend in Australia
Decreasing
Leading wine exporter in the Asia-Pacific region
Australia
Get more insights

Editor’s Picks Current statistics on this topic

Leading food and beverage companies based on revenue in Australia in 2023 (in million Australian dollars)

Food & Nutrition

Revenue of leading food and beverage companies Australia 2023

Tax on alcoholic drinks in Australia as of August 2023, by type (in Australian dollars per unit)

Alcoholic Beverages

Tax per standard alcoholic drink Australia 2023, by type

Consumer price index (CPI) of spirits in Australia from March 2013 to December 2023

Spirits

Consumer price index of spirits Australia 2013-2023

Related topics

Beverages in Australia

3

Alcoholic beverages worldwide

5

Wine market worldwide

5

Beer market worldwide

5

Spirits market worldwide

3

Recommended statistics

Overview

8

Overview

Wine segment

5

Wine segment

Beer segment

6

Beer segment

Spirits & RTDs segment

5

Spirits & RTDs segment

Leading alcohol companies

6

Leading alcohol companies

Online alcohol retailing

5

Online alcohol retailing

Further reportsGet the best reports to understand your industry

Contact

Get in touch with us. We are happy to help.
Statista Locations
Contact Meredith Alda
Meredith Alda
Sales Manager– Contact (United States)
Email
support@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm (EST)

Contact Yolanda Mega
Yolanda Mega
Operations Manager– Contact (Asia)
Email
asia.support@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 9am - 5pm (SGT)

Contact Kisara Mizuno
Kisara Mizuno
Senior Business Development Manager– Contact (Asia)
Email
asia.support@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 10:00am - 6:00pm (JST)

Contact Lodovica Biagi
Lodovica Biagi
Director of Operations– Contact (Europe)
Email
eu.support@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 9:30am - 5pm (GMT)

Contact Carolina Dulin
Carolina Dulin
Group Director - LATAM– Contact (Latin America)
Email
latam@statista.com

Mon - Fri, 9am - 6pm (EST)

Menu