How preferences for volume-based promotions differ between at-risk and non-problem female drinkers

Background: Previous work has indicated that volume-based promotions encourage greater alcohol consumption. We report on a novel experimental approach that examined whether volume-based promotions, such as "Buy 1 Get 1 Free", were selected more frequently than a simple 50% price discount among a sample of young adults who were differentiated by their levels of alcohol use. Methods: 90 female university students took part in an online survey where they were asked to select either a volume- or price-based deal for alcohol or non-alcohol products. All participants were grouped as either non-problem drinkers or at-risk drinkers based on their response to the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). For both product types, all decisions were collapsed into a simple binary outcome variable that indicated whether they preferred volume-based products or not. Chi-squared tests and logistic regression were run to assess the differences in preference for volume-based promotions between the two alcohol groups, for both alcohol and non-alcohol products. Results: Participants who were identified for at-risk drinking were significantly more likely to express a preference for volume-based alcohol offers than non-problem drinkers. In contrast, no significant difference was observed for non-alcohol products. Conclusion: This result provides the first insight on the possible differential preference for volume-based alcohol promotions between non-problem and at-risk drinkers. This work, and future studies will contribute to the development of policies regarding the regulation of promotions that are likely to have a greater appeal to at-risk drinkers.