How E-commerce is evolving the Alcohol category

How E commerce is evolving the Alcohol category

The rising opportunities in the e-commerce industry have created shockwaves in the retail industry and these shockwaves have not failed to reach the Alcohol category.
Although the access to internet was limited in many areas but according to Euro monitor the sales of the alcohol market have risen by 20% YOY in a time span of 10years. This is 5 times the rate of off trade alcohol sales as a whole. Moreover, the market is full of opportunities since these accounts for only 4% of the people from United States that buy alcohol online. There’s is a wider window of 20% people who drink alcohol who would prefer buying beer online if given the facility says the BCG alcohol ecommerce survey (December 29,2017-Jan 8,2018)
With time the alcohol sales online are gaining fame and customers seeing it as a great facility, will demand an online facility of buying beer available from every retailer. This is going to make alcohol a top chart product in food retail industry.

Targeting a new segment of shoppers in e-commerce

One of the best opportunities to increase your sales is through digital channels the online beer shoppers are a complete different image of what you see in day to day shopping. These customers mostly consist of the young male lot with pockets full of money with a regular demand for beer. This is a new catch for food retailers.
An example of this can be seen from the observation of a national retailer who observed that 90% of the shoppers online increased their sales in the first year when ecommerce was launched. It is possible that this number will decrease with time but the retailers who enter the market with this facility are sure to cash in the opportunity in the start in comparison to their competitors.
A way to increase sales is to encourage your existing customers to shop online. This will probably increase your lifetime value from 20%-50% says an analysis of IDC future scape, kantar retail Analysis. Having an omni channel customer means that you have the advantage of those people who tend to spend more and is more likely to shop than an in store customer. A national retail customer observed that customers who shop online spend just about equal time in the store but they tend to shop more. According to a CPG, 30% of the sales increased for those products which were being offered online and the number kept increasing for expendable products an example of which is beer.
An omni-channel customer spends consistently more and is more loyal than an in-store only customer. One national retailer found that customers who used click-and-collect were spending just as much time in the store but shopped in higher margin categories. Additionally, a CPG found that 30% of sales were incremental for products offered online, and that number grows for dispensable categories such as beer.

What’s next for alcohol and e-commerce?

In order to be a successful retailer in the Ecommerce industry it is vital to choose the right product to sell. Anheuser-Busch’s research and insights regarding online beer and what the customers want is a great source of information on guiding the retails on what to sell and what attracts the customers.
Moreover you need to have a strong marketing strategy regarding store advertising and promotions which are essential in boosting sales. Investing in online store sales may seem like a risky job but your omni channel customers are a source of great value in the long run.
Anheuser-Busch the king of the beer industry is ready to work with CPGs on cross merchandising promotions to contribute to and increase the items of the grocery category online.