This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
News
$6.5bn of spirits sold online in 2018
Online spirits sales totalled around US$6.5 billion in 2018 – representing 2% of all global spirits value sales, according to IWSR figures.
The growth of e-commerce will “change the alcoholic drinks landscape forever”
According to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis’ global database, 1.8% of the value of all alcoholic drinks is now sold online. The regulation of online alcohol retailing is “more complicated than other sectors and this has stifled development, but this is changing”, the IWSR claimed.
However, IWSR said wine had “harnessed the selling power of the online retail environment”. In 2018, 3.6% of all wine value sales came from e-commerce – totalling nearly US$8bn.
The IWSR said this “rapid expansion” threatens “the viability of independent brick-and-mortar wine stores in the UK”.
When it comes to spirits, direct selling on owned online platforms has been “less effective” for spirits companies than partnerships or acquisitions with established online retailers and delivery services. The IWSR suggested that this is because players “compromised choice to exclusively sell their own brands”.
The analyst also noticed a recent trend for spirits firms to “partner with existing online platforms to maximise exposure and to showcase their brands from a different angle to consumers”.
In China, 6.5% of off-premise sales of all alcoholic drinks are now ordered online, according to IWSR. Chinese internet users, of which there are reported to be 800 million, have been “quick to embrace the advent of e-commerce”. The “explosion in smart phone use, social media apps and mobile e-commerce has facilitated this shift in buying habits”, the IWSR said.
The analyst concluded: “The shift to digital platforms will change the alcoholic drinks landscape forever, providing a marketplace for a plethora of brands and concepts that are no longer reliant on winning shelf space from a few major retail chains.
“The future alcoholic beverage market will be a more diverse and interesting place as a result.”
For an in-depth look at the alcohol e-commerce industry, click here.