Temporal and seasonal trends in public interest in nonalcoholic beverages and lifestyles: A Google Trends analysis, 2004–2026
- 1Department of Health Behavior, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America.
- 2Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, United States of America.
Abstract
Background: Growing awareness of alcohol harms and health consciousness has increased public interest in reducing alcohol consumption. However, little is known about how public interest in nonalcoholic beverages and lifestyles has changed over time. This study analyzed long-term and seasonal patterns in Google searches related to nonalcoholic beverages and lifestyles in the US from 2004 to 2026. Method: Google Trends data assessed monthly relative search volume (RSV) for five alcohol reduction–related search terms representing two categories: non-alcohol lifestyles (“quit drinking”, “Dry January”, and “sober curious”) and nonalcoholic beverages (“non alcoholic” and “mocktail”). Descriptive analyses were conducted to assess temporal patterns in RSV. Long-term trends, seasonal patterns, and changes in interest associated with COVID-19 were analyzed using quadratic regression and segmented regression models with Newey–West standard errors to address autocorrelation and heteroskedasticity. Results: Public interest in both alcohol reduction–related lifestyles and nonalcoholic beverages increased substantially over the study period. Beverage-related searches demonstrated more rapid growth following the COVID-19 pandemic, with significant positive post-pandemic trend changes observed for both “nonalcoholic” (β = 0.564, p < 0.001) and “mocktail” (β = 1.103, p < 0.001) terms, whereas lifestyle-related searches remained stable or grew slowly after the pandemic. Seasonal analyses showed lifestyle search “quit drinking” peaked in January, while beverage search “non alcoholic” peaked in December. Conclusions: Public interest in alcohol reduction via nonalcoholic beverages and lifestyles has risen, reflecting changing cultural and behavioral attitudes towards alcohol. These findings highlight the potential of Google search behavior to provide real-time insights into changing alcohol-related attitudes, harm reduction behaviors, and interest in no- and low-alcohol (NoLo) alternatives.
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BibTeX
@article{tian2026temporal,
title = {{Temporal and seasonal trends in public interest in nonalcoholic beverages and lifestyles: A Google Trends analysis, 2004–2026}},
author = {Ying Tian and Dylan K Richards and Melissa J Cox},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0361032},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0361032},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Temporal and seasonal trends in public interest in nonalcoholic beverages and lifestyles: A Google Trends analysis, 2004–2026
AU - Ying Tian
AU - Dylan K Richards
AU - Melissa J Cox
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/29
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0361032
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0361032
AB - Background: Growing awareness of alcohol harms and health consciousness has increased public interest in reducing alcohol consumption. However, little is known about how public interest in nonalcoholic beverages and lifestyles has changed over time. This study analyzed long-term and seasonal patterns in Google searches related to nonalcoholic beverages and lifestyles in the US from 2004 to 2026. Method: Google Trends data assessed monthly relative search volume (RSV) for five alcohol reduction–related search terms representing two categories: non-alcohol lifestyles (“quit drinking”, “Dry January”, and “sober curious”) and nonalcoholic beverages (“non alcoholic” and “mocktail”). Descriptive analyses were conducted to assess temporal patterns in RSV. Long-term trends, seasonal patterns, and changes in interest associated with COVID-19 were analyzed using quadratic regression and segmented regression models with Newey–West standard errors to address autocorrelation and heteroskedasticity. Results: Public interest in both alcohol reduction–related lifestyles and nonalcoholic beverages increased substantially over the study period. Beverage-related searches demonstrated more rapid growth following the COVID-19 pandemic, with significant positive post-pandemic trend changes observed for both “nonalcoholic” (β = 0.564, p < 0.001) and “mocktail” (β = 1.103, p < 0.001) terms, whereas lifestyle-related searches remained stable or grew slowly after the pandemic. Seasonal analyses showed lifestyle search “quit drinking” peaked in January, while beverage search “non alcoholic” peaked in December. Conclusions: Public interest in alcohol reduction via nonalcoholic beverages and lifestyles has risen, reflecting changing cultural and behavioral attitudes towards alcohol. These findings highlight the potential of Google search behavior to provide real-time insights into changing alcohol-related attitudes, harm reduction behaviors, and interest in no- and low-alcohol (NoLo) alternatives.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -