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The US is ‘top dog’ in drinks e-commerce

07 December 2021 By Sarah Neish

As online drinks sales continue to soar, the United States is expected to snatch the crown for e-commerce by 2025, says new data from IWSR.

While China currently accounts for a third of the world’s e-commerce value, it’s another nation that’s set to rule the web in the drinks sector over the next few years.

According to IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, the highest e-commerce growth in the drinks market will come from the US, with the country forecast to experience an average annual growth of +20% by 2025.

The meteoric growth will see the US shoot to the top of the leader board when it comes to online drinks sale, becoming the top global market for online beverage alcohol.

Furthermore, the newly released IWSR study has identified two distinct types of e-commerce shopping behaviour, and the split appears to hinge on age.

The first type of online drinks shopper takes a more ‘traditional’ e-commerce approach, placing orders via websites. These tend to be older consumers seeking great prices and well-known brands, and, here’s the crux of it… are prepared to wait for delivery.

The second shopper type is all about app-driven e-commerce. These are younger consumers who are willing to cough up for rapid delivery and are on the hunt for interesting and unique brands rather than household names.

“Given the pandemic and overall changing consumer shopping behaviour, 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,” says Guy Wolfe, strategic insights manager, IWSR Drinks Market Analysis.

The study reveals that a quarter of alcohol drinkers across the globe report buying alcohol online. In most markets, wine is the biggest alcoholic drinks category in e-commerce (around 40% of total value). However, in the likes of China, Colombia, Mexico, and Nigeria, spirits rule supreme.

“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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