Rise In Alcohol E-commerce Market Fuels Buzz For Its Future

---

Liquor stores in the U.S. were deemed essential businesses during the global pandemic, kicking off not only the rise of alcohol e-commerce, but setting off a domino effect of recent venture capital investments, M&A and companies entering the public markets.

Experts say this activity gives credibility to an industry still gaining traction: The share of alcohol sales made online was just 1 percent in 2019, compared to groceries at 3.4 percent and 38 percent of apparel sales during the same time.

However, that all changed in 2020, according to Johan Brenner, general partner at early-stage venture capital firm Creandum, an investor in San Francisco wine app and online wine marketplace Vivino.

“In early 2020, due to COVID-19, all online categories took off,” Brenner said via email. “At Vivino, for example, growth was more than 100 percent in 2020. It seems like people were not drinking more, just shifting consumption to home and enjoying the convenience of home delivery while restaurants and bars were closed.”

International Wine & Spirit Research now expects the total value of alcohol e-commerce across 10 global markets, including the U.S., to exceed $40 billion by 2024. That’s after the figure reached about $5.6 billion in 2020, up from around $3 billion in 2019.

By Christine Hall
04-05-2021
Source and complete article by: news.crunchbase.com