Who Is Buying Beverage Alcohol Online?

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Nearly 70% of US consumers are regular buyers of beverage alcohol, and about 12% of them made their alcohol purchases online in the past six months, according Nielsen's Harris Poll. Wine had the highest percentage of online purchases at 42%, then spirits (35%) and beer (29%).

WHO'S BUYING ONLINE? The typical online alcohol buyer is higher-earning, younger (average age of 39), male (77%) and employed full time (71%). Most of the online purchases were made from customers in the Northeast (31%) in urban areas (56%). While most of the in-store only consumers were in the South (34%), 51% female at an average age of 49.

Taking a closer look at the online purchases, 50% of respondents said what they ordered online was picked up at a store. For those that chose at-home delivery, the wait time on the online purchases varied: 41% said the alcohol was delivered within hours, 34% had it delivered within 1-2 days and 27% waited more than 2 days for delivery.

When asked about future online purchases, a significant proportion said they expect to increase the amount of alcohol purchased online, particularly those that purchased wine. Moreover, 11% of in-store only respondents said they plan to give online alcohol purchasing a shot in the next year.

"While online purchasing of alcohol may be lagging that of other categories today, we expect it will continue to grow rapidly as more e-commerce channels are made available and online barriers are overcome, and as consumers become more accustomed to buying their alcohol online, especially to suit various consumption occasions," says Nielsen's Danny Brager.

MARCH 10, 2017
Source: Wine and Spirits Daily