Anheuser-Busch InBev today released the results of its first international survey on consumer attitudes toward the responsible serving and selling of alcoholic beverages — adults of legal drinking age in eight countries were asked about the impact that bartenders, waiters and store clerks have on encouraging responsible drinking. The survey provides new data to highlight the importance of ongoing training and the opportunity to expand these efforts.
The survey, conducted by Brunswick Insight, polled adults of legal drinking age in Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, China, Germany, Mexico, UK and the US about the prevalence of checking identification and their attitudes toward responsible serving and selling of alcoholic beverages. Survey highlights:
- Every day, more than 30 million adults across these markets have their identification checked when they purchase alcohol beverages.
- On average, identification is checked 30 times a year.
- Most consumers either don’t mind (39 percent) or are flattered (15 percent) when asked to show identification.
- Men are 30 percent more likely than women to be asked to show identification.
- More than one in three adults across the globe (36 percent) want responsible drinking tips from servers and sellers.
- Almost half of adults (45 percent) are open to suggestions about getting a safe ride home.
The results reinforce AB InBev’s efforts to educate servers and sellers, which builds a culture of responsible drinking and helps to prevent the harmful use of alcohol.
The survey coincides with AB InBev’s fifth annual Global Be(er) Responsible Day (GBRD). This year, AB InBev will rally its 155,000 employees and various community and business partners around the world to focus on the influential role of servers and sellers of alcohol beverages in promoting responsible consumption.
As part of its efforts, AB InBev is working to significantly expand the reach of its server and seller training, including partnering with the National Restaurant Association in the US to reinforce the importance of training. The company is also launching an attempt at a GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ title for “Most Pledges Received for a Campaign” — the company is asking bartenders, waiters and store clerks around the world to participate in responsible serving training, with a goal of training 1 million servers globally by the end of 2014. AB InBev has also launched a website for servers and sellers to pledge to serve responsibly.
“Anyone who sells or serves alcohol has a big influence on their customers’ drinking behavior. Our new research shows that customers listen to suggestions from these individuals to make responsible choices about drinking alcohol beverages. That’s why we are aiming to train at least 1 million servers and sellers around the world to be a greater force for helping their customers make smart choices,” said Carlos Brito, CEO of Anheuser-Busch InBev.
Today, AB InBev also announced third-year progress toward meeting its six Global Responsible Drinking Goals by the end of 2014. Progress toward the goals will be independently audited at the end of this year, and final results will be reported in early 2015. Year-end 2013 results show that AB InBev has already achieved four of its six goals:
- Reached almost 340 million adults across the globe with programs that help parents talk with children about underage drinking, exceeding the goal of reaching at least 100 million adults.
- Provided identification-checking materials to 1.2 million bars and other retailers across the globe, going beyond the target of 500,000.
- Trained 390,000 servers and sellers of alcohol across the globe — including bartenders, waiters and grocery store clerks — on responsible beverage sales. AB InBev aims to train a total of at least 1 million people through a mix of both online and face-to-face training.
- Reached more than 1 billion legal-age consumers across the globe to educate them about the importance of using a designated driver or safe ride home, exceeding the target of reaching at least 500 million consumers.
In addition to working toward a more responsible customer base, AB InBev has been hard at work on improving its environmental impacts through optimization of its logistics and the sourcing of key ingredients such as water and barley.