US E-Commerce Alcohol Sales Surpass $6bn in 2021

According to new data released by Rabobank their 2022 Alcohol E-commerce Playbook Report looked at the US alcohol e-commerce market and how it has grown since the start of the pandemic. The report forecasts that the online channel is set to be the biggest driver of industry growth for years to come.

The report predicts online alcohol sales in the US will grow an additional 3.4% in 2022 and has noted that the average size of e-commerce teams at US alcohol companies has jumped by 117% since 2019.

“E-commerce will be the number-one driver of industry growth over the next decade and a critical component of brand building, awareness, and trial, both online and in-store,” said Bourcard Nesin, a Rabo Research F&A beverages analyst, and author of the report.

“Companies that fail to proactively invest in their e-commerce teams will struggle to remain relevant and retain market share.”

Analysis of Major Channels
Online sales now represent about 4% of all off-trade alcohol sales in the US, an increase of nearly 1.9% in 2019.

The online grocery and marketplace channels grew 271% in two years and are now nearly four times larger than they were pre-pandemic.

Online alcohol sales in the grocery channel increased 238% in 2020 and 9% last year. Rabobank states the increase is due to a large number of retail locations offering alcohol online.

The report further said online alcohol marketplaces increased by 274% in 2020, with the channel predicted to grow by 15% in 2022.

Rabobank said companies such as Drizly and Instacart obtained millions of customers and added thousands of stores to their retail networks. Together, the two companies have an 86% market share of sales in the channel.

The channel’s success resulted in major merger and acquisition activity, including Uber’s US$1.1 billion purchase of Drizly last year, Rabobank noted. In November 2021, e-commerce platform Reserve Bar agreed to acquire Minibar Delivery.

Meanwhile, specialty alcohol retailers, which include large chain stores, state-owned retailers, and independent shops with an online offering, increased by 151% in 2020. Rabobank said growth was driven by operators offering local delivery and curbside pick-up for the first time.

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Drinks E-commerce to grow exponentially in three years – IWSR Report

The total value of the e-commerce sector in headline markets is expected to grow at an unprecedented rate between 2022-2025, according to IWSR.

Over the next five years e-commerce sales of alcohol across key global markets are predicted to expand by +66% to reach more than US$42 billion, according to a comprehensive strategic study published by IWSR Drinks Market Analysis.

Among the 16 focus markets examined in the IWSR report (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, South Africa, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States), e-commerce value increased by about +12% in 2019, and then by almost +43% in 2020 during the height of the pandemic.

The report states: “Looking ahead to 2025, e-commerce is projected to represent about 6% of all off-trade beverage alcohol volumes, compared to less than 2% in 2018. The greatest forecast e-commerce value growth will come from the US, thanks to average annual growth in the country of about +20%, which will see it become the top global market for online beverage alcohol.”

The newly released IWSR study also found that online business models for alcohol sales are becoming more diverse, leading consumers to increasingly shift between channels and retailers according to their specific needs at any given time.

“In general terms, the online beverage alcohol space can be perceived as two distinct, but overlapping, worlds: more ‘traditional’ e-commerce – often omnichannel or online specialists – accessed via websites and used by older consumers seeking good prices and known brands and who are prepared to wait for delivery; and more ‘modern’ app-driven e-commerce – often on-demand or marketplaces – used by younger legal drinking age consumers willing to pay for rapid delivery and looking for interesting/premium brands,” the report states.

Guy Wolfe, strategic insights manager, IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, commented: “Given the pandemic and overall changing consumer shopping behavior, it’s certainly not surprising that alcohol e-commerce is growing very quickly. But what’s interesting is to see the significant variations that have developed both across and within markets in how different consumer groups shop via e-commerce and what their priorities are.

“E-commerce has clearly become engrained for many consumers, cementing its place as the third sales channel for beverage alcohol purchase,” confirms Wolfe.

 

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