Written by MATT MCGINNIS
tips to effectively
SELL
spirits online
P
eople have grown accustomed to shopping online for convenience and expect to buy anything they want from their phone or computer. Is it time to start selling your spirits online? Over the next five years, e-commerce sales of beverage alcohol are expected to increase by $7.5B, to reach nearly $40B across key markets by 2027, according to a 2023 report by IWSR. More than four in five regular craft spirits drinkers (81 percent) would be more likely to try new craft spirit
W W W . ARTISANSPIRITMAG . C O M
brands if they were able to purchase the spirits via direct-to-consumer shipping to their home according to a 2023 Sovos ShipCompliant survey. It makes it possible for people all across the country to buy your spirits and become loyal fans. Online sales are a crucial source of information, influence, and engagement for buyers and can provide a rich source of data to help improve sales across all channels. There are compelling reasons to consider
selling your spirits through e-commerce. But before you jump into the fray, there are important considerations to address. Think of selling online as you would getting ready to start selling in a new state. To open a new market you need to secure a distributor, arm them with sales materials, do distributor ride-alongs, etc. Ya gotta go where the consumers are with brand ambassadors working on-premise, doing instore samplings, and meeting with buyers. The same is true for successfully selling online. Ya gotta go where consumers are — online. 37