Delighted to say we have just won another alcohol customer this week – and a soft drinks customer too. That’s our third this month. Since lockdown, this has been a definite trend for us. According to the Beverage Industry “Alcohol brands are growing at double, if not triple digits, week on week at some retailers”. So, as Christmas is fast approaching while the end of lockdown is looking a bit further away, I thought I’d share my ‘5Ps’ of B2C E-commerce for alcohol brands. Hopefully, it might help brands thinking about taking their offer online, set up and get started that bit quicker.
‘5Ps’ of B2C E-commerce for Alcohol Brands
- Permission (Licenses). A tenuous P I know. If your fulfilment partner is holding the stock and dispatching the orders – they will need a Premises License and a Personal License. Commands has a Premises License and I hold a Personal License. But not all fulfilment service providers do. So please, make sure you check before you even start your discussion. If you are selling from your own premises (though not from your house, that is a no-no), you will need the same Licenses.
- Platform & Payment providers – not all e-commerce platforms are created equal. For some alcohol is a prohibited item. Same for payment providers. For example, Shopify Payments prohibit alcohol sales but you can use a different payment provider and sell on the Shopify Platform. Alcohol sales are prohibited, too, on Wix.
- Products – Have you thought about what products would work best online? I spend a lot of time upfront with customers helping them design the right product mix to launch online. My advice – keep it as simple as you can to start with. Party packs are a hot topic at the moment. Which makes perfect sense with the uncertainties that surround Christmas this year.
- Packaging – Lightweight but robust packaging is a must. And making sure it’s fit for purpose for how your customers are likely to shop – Single Bottles? Double/Triple Packs? Magnums? Cases? We have lots of different options ourselves but we are always looking for new ideas – if you have some great, suitable packaging options please get in touch!
- People – Do you have the capacity to handle customer service enquiries? Have you got the manpower to capitalise on all these new sales? Are you able to ramp up if your new venture is more successful than you expected? A great problem to have, but one to be prepared for – as no one is more vocal than an unhappy customer.
If you’d like any more info do get in touch. Otherwise, stay safe everyone. I’m off to place my wine order ……
Maureen.