The IT Nerd

Following a busy holiday season, many health-conscious Canadians embraced the modern tradition of Dry January, starting the year off right with an alcohol-free month. With January ending and Fall Off February on the horizon, Uber is sharing a snapshot of how Canadians observed the dry challenge to provide some inspiration for maintaining the momentum. 

Uber data trends highlight the Canadian cities that consumed the least amount of alcohol, the cities most inclined to swap their nights out for nights in and the “types” of alcohol drinkers who cut back the most. Uber is also identifying the cities that embraced their wellness era this January, trading those December sweet treats for some healthy eats in 2024.

Check out the healthy highlights:

• 😴Protecting our peace – (Top 10 cities that took the least amount of late-night Uber rides): After the clock struck midnight on January 1, many Canadians traded in their dancing shoes for slippers, taking a break from the late-night partying. Ottawa residents were in bed nice and early in January, with the fewest late night rides, followed by Edmonton and Toronto.
• 🤩No hangover, no problem – (Top 10 cities that ordered the least amount of alcohol and Top 10 cities that ordered the most mocktails): Taking a break from booze seems to be at the top of everyone’s resolution list this year. The city that stayed the driest in January was Winnipeg and the city that ordered the most mocktails was Regina.
• 🚰You’re fine without wine – (Type of alcohol drinkers who commit the most to Dry-January): Wine Moms, Beer Bros and Liquor Connoisseurs went head-to-head this month over who could cut back the most. Wine drinkers came out on top, with the greatest decrease from December 2023 to January 2024, followed by beer and then liquor.
• 🧃Blame it on the juice – (Top 10 cities that ordered the most juice cleanses or smoothies): Who said liquid courage had to be alcoholic? This year many Canadians turned to juice cleanses and smoothies to give them a boost of confidence with that healthy glow. Vancouver, Toronto and Saskatoon ordered the most smoothies and juice cleanses of any other Canadian cities in January.
• 🫀It’s giving health – (Top 10 cities ordering the most from the “healthy” category): The post-holiday turkey tummy hits hard in the new year, but many Canadians were determined to go from turkeyed-out to toned with healthier food choices. This January Niagara Region residents got right to work, with the most orders of food from the healthy category.
• 🥗January? More like Veganuary – (Top 10 cities that ordered the most from vegan restaurants): Meat is OUT and veggies are IN for 2024. Canadians leaned into the Veganuary trend this year, ditching the meat and doubling down on the fruits, veggies and meat alternatives. Edmonton, Victoria and Ottawa lead the pack, with the most orders from vegan restaurants. 
• 🏋️Let’s get physical – (Top 10 cities that ordered the most fitness items): To avoid the January gym crowd, Canadians stocked up on fitness items for their at-home workouts. Saskatoon, Edmonton and Winnipeg got their sweat on the most, with the most amount of fitness orders.

See below for the full Dry January data insights. Starting with a graphic illustrating the volume of alcohol orders on Uber Eats from July 2023 to January 2024, highlighting the rise of orders over the holidays and decline in the New Year. 

*** Data is weighted to control for population differences between cities. 

Top 10 cities that ordered the least amount of alcohol in January 2024 

1. Winnipeg
2. Victoria
3. Windsor
4. Toronto
5. Calgary
6. Hamilton
7. Vancouver
8. Kitchener-Waterloo
9. Ottawa
10. Niagara Region

Top 10 cities that ordered the most mocktails in January 2024

1. Regina
2. Edmonton
3. Red Deer
4. Calgary 
5. North Bay 
6. Vancouver 
7. Toronto
8. Belleville
9. Hamilton
10. Winnipeg

Type of alcohol drinkers commit the most to Dry-January (Beer, vs Wine, vs Liquor, which category saw the biggest declines)

1. Wine
2. Beer 
3. Liquor

Top 10 cities that ordered the most juice cleanses or smoothies in January 2024 

1. Vancouver
2. Toronto
3. Saskatoon
4. Hamilton
5. London, Ont
6. Edmonton
7. Ottawa
8. Thunder Bay
9. Calgary
10. Kitchener-Waterloo

Top 10 cities that ordered the most from vegan restaurants in January 2024

1. Edmonton
2. Victoria
3. Ottawa
4. Calgary
5. Vancouver
6. Toronto
7. Hamilton
8. Halifax
9. Kelowna
10. Niagara Region

Top 10 cities that took the least amount of late night Uber rides (between 9pm and 2 am) in January 2024

1. Ottawa
2. Edmonton
3. Toronto
4. Calgary
5. Regina
6. Hamilton
7. Winnipeg
8. Vancouver
9. Saskatoon
10. Montreal

Top 10 cities ordering the most from the “healthy” category in January 2024

1. Niagara Region
2. London
3. Kitchener/Waterloo
4. Halifax
5. Hamilton
6. Winnipeg
7. Ottawa
8. Calgary
9. Toronto
10. Vancouver

Top 10 cities ordering the most fitness items in January 2024

1. Saskatoon
2. Edmonton
3. Winnipeg
4. Calgary
5. Vancouver
6. London, Ont.
7. Ottawa
8. Hamilton
9. Toronto
10. Kitchener-Waterloo

This entry was posted on January 31, 2024 at 8:30 am and is filed under Commentary with tags Uber. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.