Online Beer Purchasing Grows In US

And it’s not just beer purchases, it’s the whole alcohol sector according to a recent report.

Here’s the deal…

It should be unsurprising that 2020 was a banner year alcohol E-commerce what with global shutdowns due to the pandemic and most Americans ‘sheltering in place.’ But according Rabobank an agrifood and drink data firm, e-commerce alcohol sales are not only not going away, they could be its future.

Rabobank’s 2022 Alcohol E-commerce Playbook focused on the growth of e-commerce alcohol sales since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, based on data and interviews with drinks brands and retailers.

The study found that online alcohol purchases soared an amazing 238% in 2020 and continued throughout 2021, though at a slower rate.

There was also growth in online ‘direct-to-consumer’ sales, rising 73% in 2020, with online sales making up nearly a quarter (23%) of those purchases.

Grocery chains upped their game and enjoyed 9% bump in year on year online sales. .  Walmart increased the number of locations delivering alcohol in the US from 200 in 2019, to almost 1,500 by the end of 2021. And alcohol sales in the online grocery channel are expected to grow 15% in 2022, Rabobank estimated.

Licensed independents such as craft brewers also saw strong growth, rising 151% during 2020, driven by the rise of convenient options such as local delivery and curb-side pickup.

0nline marketplaces such as Drizly and Instacart were key to the growth in alcohol ecommerce sector, the report noted, having grown 274% during 2020. And Rabobank projects that those two e-commerce companies, which already own a hefty 86% on the online delivery market could grow an additional 15% in 2022.

Online sales of alcohol in the US are now worth $6.1 billion according to the report, a rise of 131% since 2019 and those numbers are only expected to grow.

“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,” the report’s author, Bourcard Nesin, a Rabobank beverages analyst said.

However Nesin went on to warn that companies which fail to proactively invest in their e-commerce game “will struggle to remain relevant and retain market share.”

Because thanks to the pandemic, alcohol e-commerce has arrived and it’s not expected to go away.