Alcohol purchasing behaviour of drinkers

This report from SHORE & Whariki Research Centre examined patterns of purchasing of alcohol, including late night purchasing, from on and off licensed premises, using survey data from 2015. Current national maximum trading hours for on licensed premises are between 8am and 4am, and between 7am and 11pm for off licensed premises.

The researchers found that most alcohol purchases occurred prior to the national maximum trading hours (between midnight and 2am for on licensed premises and between 8pm and 10pm for off licensed premises). Since two thirds of drinkers who purchased alcohol later at night were drinking at risky levels, further restrictions on trading hours is in line with the aim of the Sale and Supply of Alcohol Act (2012), to minimise harm from alcohol.

This version 2 report includes a small number of changes to the original report published in January 2019. These are outlined in Appendix 2.