Gen Z ‘not abandoning bars, but have substantial expectations’, says Heineken - data

Consumers in Europe aged between 18 and 29 (Gen Z) are “less interested in abandoning bars than in renegotiating what makes them worth visiting”, according to recent research commissioned by Heineken.

The findings, which feature in ‘The Future Role of Bars in Europe’, published by the brewer late last week, are based on surveys of 9,227 adults in Austria, Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the UK. According to Heineken, the report forms an element of its “broader focus on the role of hospitality venues in social connection”.

Among the factors expected by the legal-drinking-age Gen-Z cohort to shape the “future expectations” of the on-premise are extras such as food, music, sport and ‘live experiences’. Meanwhile, only 52% of those surveyed said they feel bars are “adapting well” to changing consumer needs.

These expectations are not limited to the younger generation, however. Across the nine European markets surveyed, between 62% and 77% of respondents said that “the best bars of the future will need to offer more than drinks” – compared to 73% of the Gen Z cohort.

The research also found that 18–to-29-year-olds are visiting bars more frequently than their respective national averages – however, this was in part put down to variations in “life-stage pressures”, particularly when compared to the Millennial cohort (aged 30–45). Indeed, Millennial consumers exhibited the “most significant” drop in bar visits compared to five years ago in every market surveyed by Heineken.

“The data suggests that the ‘decline of bar culture’ narrative is less about youth disengagement, and more about life-stage pressures reshaping how Millennials socialise,” Heineken said.

“Taken across the nine markets, the Gen-Z findings resist a single trajectory,” the group added. “Younger adults currently participate frequently, although reported five-year change differs considerably by country.

“Their expectations also extend across the wider bar experience, from price and drinks choice to food, music, sport and other activities.

“The result is a generation that appears less interested in abandoning bars than in renegotiating what makes them worth visiting. Their behaviour offers a glimpse of how perceptions of worthwhile reasons to go out are evolving, and what will make bars relevant for the future.”

Last month, the Amsterdam-headquartered business announced it had developed an app through the Heineken Studio experimental innovation platform that allows consumers to design their own beer before ordering it from an AI-powered tap.