On a scorching Boxing Day in Melbourne’s inner-city, Andrew Crompton is busy inside his store Act of Wine, meticulously placing bottles of prosecco and Yarra Valley pinot noir on display shelves.
Australia is one of the world’s wealthiest countries per capita and traditionally has one of the highest-spending on alcohol per capita. Bottle shops around the country thrived during According to data from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare , young people are drinking less and also driving a long-term increase in abstaining from alcohol. From 2007 to 2022–2023, the proportion of people aged 18-24 who abstained from alcohol increased from 13.1 per cent to 23 per cent.
Meanwhile, he said older generations were more inclined to purchase Australian sparkling and champagne to ring in the New Year. Crompton’s said his Southbank store was currently across from a construction zone and was being impacted by road closures, concluding his experience compared to other liquor stores may be “more pronounced”.