Independent Brands Australia
IBA raises the digital bar Raff Palermo, Head of Digital at Australian Liquor Marketers (ALM), discusses the company’s online strategy and how this supports its network of Independent Brands Australia (IBA) retailers.
Q - What is the role of e-commerce at IBA right now?
has increased. Same day delivery, and
E-commerce is a top priority for the
facilitate this, as well as agile solutions for
Q - How are you supporting IBA members in the online space right now?
business. Over the past two years, ALM
regional stores. Shoppers have heightened
Our digital platforms are designed with
has been investing in its digital capability,
awareness around their orders so it’s
IBA retailers in mind, and we will partner
ramping up scale and focusing on customer
critical we keep our promises on delivery
with retailers in all aspects. Training,
centric execution and experience.
time frames.
onboarding, order fulfilment hardware,
partnerships with providers that can
Continually raising our game has meant
Click and collect order fulfilment has
fraud protection and prevention,
we have moved from marketplace model
become resurgent again, increasing by
marketing, customer service and lead
ShopMyLocal, to IBA bannered standalone
more than 20 per cent since the start of
generation is through the line integrated.
e-commerce sites for Cellarbrations, The
December last year. Shoppers are coming
We will support our retailers in delivering
Bottle-O and Porters Liquor, facilitating
in-store for a number of reasons, including
an exceptional experience for their online
expanding shopper missions. Pleasingly, in a
convenience and safety (not needing to
shoppers. These things are done centrally
short period of time we have become
and executed locally for the benefit
an integrated offering; both the
of the whole network.
physical and online retail offerings
Q - How do you see the liquor retail landscape evolving in the online space in the next 12 months?
have come together in one strategy, one plan and one conversation with our retail and supplier partners. The second important part of e-commerce is catering to the surge
Online sales are reported be in the
in on-demand deliveries, which are
vicinity of $2.0bn, which makes up
expanding our audiences and their
nearly 10 per cent of total liquor
new shopping preferences. We currently have
browse in-store), flexibility (browsing in-
retail. While we won’t experience the
partnerships with Uber Eats and DoorDash
store), and immediacy (with rapid purchase
multi-year growth that happened during
marketplaces in this quick commerce channel,
and collection options). Selling via digital
lockdowns, and inflation will impact it,
servicing stores in Victoria, New South Wales
channels creates increased ‘stickiness’ of
the growth of online will continue at a
and now Queensland.
consumers for our retailers with more
faster rate than physical retail. For me,
reasons for shoppers to interact with them.
a baseline has been set - shoppers are
Our e-commerce strategy and our future mindset is about being not just relevant
now comfortable buying online and will
Q - Do you have any new initiatives you’re excited about for this year?
continue to do so.
Consumer personalisation. Consumers have
retail – we want to use online solutions to
Q - What are the biggest opportunities and challenges for ALM in this digital space this year?
an expectation on how their data is being
complement in-store and invest online growth
used to make their online experiences
back into bricks and mortar businesses. We
richer. Our ability to create scale and brand
know consumers still want to shop local and
It is all about the shopper and consumer
visibility for our retailers across the three
we are enabling them to do this across the full
experience. Technology and the fulfilment
banners but balance it with a local and
path to purchase. Replicating our physical
is critical to any e-commerce channel
personalisation for their individual outlet
strength online boosts convenience for
and consumer expectation since COVID
will, I believe, really see us lead in this space.
consumers and coverage for our retailers.
in all paths to purchase but to lead the e-commerce space for our retailers.
54 | National Liquor News
This won’t mean the erosion of physical
■