Pernod Ricard Survey Reveals More South Africans Are Becoming Less Convivial

Johannesburg, 1 February 2019: Leading premium spirits distributor Pernod Ricard  has partnered with OpinionWay to find out how convivial the world is. To put together this survey, the distributor of brands such as Absolut Vodka, Jameson Whiskey, Beefeater Gin and GH Mumm Champagne,  long dubbed as the “Creators of Conviviality” went  to 11 countries on 5 continents including South Africa to interview nearly 11,500 people. Its findings revealed that now more than ever, conviviality or friendliness is on the decline around the world. These results prompted Pernod Ricard to launch its new 360° corporate campaign, Be A Convivialist.

South Africans agreed with the overall sentiment of the survey, as 71% of the 1 008  surveyed South African participants felt that conviviality was waning in the country. When asked what conviviality meant to them, 90% of South Africans felt that it was about moments of happiness. In staying true to South African culture, 81% felt conviviality was about sharing a meal or drink, this was further reinforced by the 62% who said sharing a meal at home was their top activity for social gathering compared to the world average of 51%.

More interesting is the link between social media,the internet, and people opting to stay at home more. The result is that social interaction has also taken a dip. 62% of South Africans feel that their relationships with their friends are becoming more superficial because of social media and only 54% of them have met half of their Facebook friends in real life. With digitalization on the rise, South Africans feel that it is a threat to their friendships, 72% of South Africans felt that they meet up with their friends less and 85% of them admit to having stayed at home to stream a moview instead of going out.

On a global scale, some of the information collected from countries such as France, Mexico, Germany, Australia, India, Brazil and the UK; these were some of the key takeouts:

• 91% of those surveyed believe conviviality to be a source of well-being,
• 61% of them believe the world is less friendly than 5 years ago.
• Most pessimistic are the French at 82%, followed by Germans at 73%.
• More alarming, 67% of Millenials (18-34 years) regret meeting their friends less and less, due to social networks.
• Today’s champions of conviviality are Mexicans, followed in the Top 5 by Spain, Brazil, China and India.
• www.theconvivialists.com

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