Shoppers oppose ban on promotions and minimum pricing on alcohol

Recent research from acefieldwork, carried out in ASDA stores throughout Scotland, found that two thirds of supermarket shoppers in Scotland oppose Government proposals to ban the use of multi-buy promotions on alcohol while 61 per cent oppose the introduction of minimum pricing levels.

In the most comprehensive survey ASDA has ever conducted in Scotland, 10,000 customers across 33 stores gave their reactions to Government proposals included in the consultation - Changing Scotland’s Relationship with Alcohol.

The research, conducted by face to face research experts, acefieldwork, in September, set out to determine customers’ opinions on a series of measures implemented by ASDA to monitor the alcohol they sell and the times they sell it. Members of the 650 strong field based team from acefieldwork visited 33 stores across Scotland over a period of 15 days.

Opinions were gathered on a proposed range of measures by the Scottish Government including setting a fixed minimum price for alcohol, banning promotions and introducing alcohol-only checkouts in stores. The sale of alcohol before 10am would also be banned from September 2009.

click here to read the full press release.

Earlier this year, acefieldwork sister company FDS International conducted research into the link between personal friendship networks and binge drinking in the UK. The online research, commissioned by the Advertising Association, was carried out in February 2008 with a panel of 504 18-24 year olds across the UK. The sample group was selected to reflect a demographic which is believed to represent a particular problem in terms of alcohol consumption.

The results of the research establish that social influence operating through personal friendship networks alone explains a large rise in binge drinking among young people. It also shows that there are decisive differences in the drinking behaviour of friends of binge drinkers compared to the drinking behaviour of friends of non-binge drinkers.

For more information about acefieldwork please visit the website www.acefieldwork.co.uk