One of the most common data requests from members concerns the demographics of craft beer drinkers (note to members: check out the recent Nielsen Power Hours for last of demographic data). For many breweries, however, they should also be asking a second question: are the people buying my beer the same ones that are drinking it?

In our most recent Craft Insights Panel, conducted with Nielsen, only 51% of craft drinkers said they consume “all” or “most” of the craft beer they purchase. 49% said they only consume “about half” or “some.” That means that many of the people buying your brewery’s brands may not be the primary consumer of that beer.

The white paper linked below, co-authored with Dr. Marcel Zondag of Western Michigan University, delves into this topic in more depth. It uses shopper loyalty card data from six midwestern states to present additional data on the different between craft shoppers and craft drinkers. If your brands are in off-premise retail outlets, it’s worth a read, both for the demographics and for some of the questions it raises on how your go-to-market strategy may shift when you consider not just those who drink your beer, but those who buy it in the first place.

Download: Who Is the Craft Beer Shopper?