As a liquor store owner, you know how important it is to carve out your niche. Yet, when it comes to the website or online store, many liquor stores feel generic or old school (and we don’t mean that in a good way).
As more states allow online liquor sales and delivery, liquor store e-commerce offers small business owners a massive opportunity to expand their customer base, boost sales, and provide a modern and convenient shopping experience — but to fully take advantage of online sales, you have to do it the right way.
In this article, we’ll cover some of the latest trends in liquor store e-commerce, then give you some practical tips on how to elevate your online liquor sales so you can crush the competition.
Online Liquor Sales — Why E-Commerce Is a Must
In-store sales still account for the vast majority of liquor store business, but this doesn’t mean you should sleep on your online sales. Experts continue to see growth in e-commerce, and it’s creating significant opportunities:
- Revenue from liquor e-commerce grew 16.5% from 2019 to 2024, and is estimated to be worth over $40 billion in 2025.
- Even though online alcohol sales were at their height during the pandemic, it remains a popular channel, especially for Millennials and Gen Z.
- Seven out of 10 customers order alcohol online at least once a month.
- Many third-party services like InstaCart, Uber Eats, and DoorDash are partnering with local businesses to offer alcohol delivery.
- The most common reason people give for ordering alcohol online is to treat themselves.
To put things simply, if you’re not offering a convenient online option for your liquor sales, you may be missing out on big profits.
Finding ways to extend the experience of shopping in your physical store — from your expert recommendations to your rewards program — to your digital storefront is a surefire way to grow the number of loyal customers.
Related Read: 6 Liquor Industry Trends Every Store Owner Should Follow
6 Best Practices for Offering Seamless Liquor Store E-Commerce
Simply setting up a website won’t be enough to master online liquor sales. Follow these six best practices to ensure you’re getting the most out of your liquor store e-commerce solution.
1. Connect Your In-Store and Online Inventory
One of the worst feelings when shopping online is finding the product you want, only to discover it’s sold out. That sinking feeling is also the feeling of losing a customer, as nearly 70% of customers turn to a competitor when faced with a stockout.
A modern, real-time inventory management system is the lifeblood of liquor e-commerce — it consolidates items, updates stock levels in real time, and syncs your in-store and online inventory.
Many e-commerce solutions use your inventory database to automatically push updates to the website, eliminating the need to manually update your website when you add new items, change pricing, or restock a popular bottle.
While most modern point of sale (POS) systems include basic inventory management functions, liquor-specific solutions have some additional features that can help reduce your workload, including:
- Case break inventory tracking, so you can receive a box of wine and track inventory by the bottle or a case of beer and sell by the six-pack
- Built-in product databases and unlimited SKUs, so you can quickly search and add new items
- Automated receiving, so your stock levels can be updated against an invoice
- Low-stock alerts, so you can quickly generate a purchase order when your popular items are running low
The more efficiently your inventory management processes are, the more equipped you’ll be to handle e-commerce sales.
2. Verify Customers’ Ages To Stay Compliant
As a liquor store owner, you know how important it is to check IDs and prevent underage sales — but when there’s no one physically there to check sales online, this can be easier said than done.
According to a survey by the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America, nearly one in four adults don’t get their IDs checked when buying online. Unfortunately, your liquor store is still liable for an underage sale, even if it’s done online.
So, protect your business from legal trouble by adhering to these best practices:
- Age-gate your website so users have to verify their age to enter. It’s not the same as an ID check, but it’s an important first step.
- For curbside and in-store pickups, check all IDs of the people picking up, including checking to make sure the name on the order matches the pickup. You may also let a customer fill in a note if someone else from their household is making the pickup.
- For local deliveries, use services that require an ID check or adult signature.
Following these three tips should keep your online sales above board, so you can focus less on compliance and more on customer service.
3. Create Consistent Workflows for Different Sales Channels
Adding an extra channel can bring in more customers, but it can also bring you more chaos if you don’t have a centralized system to manage orders across your various sales channels.
Use a POS system with omnichannel order management built in. This provides a centralized dashboard that organizes different types of orders and runs through different workflows for each order, so nothing falls through the cracks.
These workflows can be configured based on different touchpoints (e.g. online delivery orders, third-party pickups like DoorDash, or curbside pickup) and prioritized based on pickup time or VIP orders.
4. Create a Unified In-Store and Online Loyalty Program
Imagine you have a loyal customer who shops in store multiple times a week — they love earning points through your loyalty program. They have an important party coming up and decide to make a big order online, only to find that they can’t redeem any of their loyalty points on your website.
When the shopping experience isn’t consistent across channels, customers can feel frustrated and ripped off. That’s why it’s important to use e-commerce tools that connect your customer data so they can switch between sales channels and pick up where they left off.
Synced customer data is also helpful beyond customer loyalty. You have a full view of every customers’ purchase history, no matter where they bought from — this is great for quickly solving any customer service issues and for using their sales data to make more informed stocking decisions.
5. Leverage Data-Driven Marketing and Decision-Making
It’s hard to make sound business decisions when you don’t have an honest view of store performance. It’s even harder to appeal to customers when you don’t have a clear picture of what they like.
Even though liquor store e-commerce might not dominate your sales numbers, it earns its keep by being a highly effective advertising tool. Just over half of all customers will browse a store’s selection online before making a purchase in store, so put your bestsellers and unique selection front and center on your website.
Once a customer signs up for an account on your website or for your loyalty program, you can use their contact information to send them exclusive discount offers and announcements about new releases.
Instead of sending blanket offers, use the reports and analytics tools on your POS system to segment customers by preferences (e.g. people who primarily buy wine, beer lovers, etc.). This way, you can send out communications tailored to their unique tastes.
The reports on your system also help you understand the kinds of alcohol people like to shop for online versus In store. This helps you make better stocking decisions and give you some fun ideas for online-only promotions.
6. Offer Advice, Tasting Notes, and Curated Experiences
Many people shop at a neighborhood liquor store to find products from local breweries and distilleries, unique bottles, or expert recommendations they can’t get anywhere else. Liquor store e-commerce shouldn’t just be a generic shop, it should be an extension of the in-store experience.
Take some time to write detailed and personable product descriptions, including things like tasting notes, food pairings, and other noteworthy information. Since you likely carry hundreds (if not thousands) of unique items, start with your bestsellers or exciting new arrivals.
As we mentioned earlier, using an integrated POS system and inventory management system makes it easy to keep your stock updated. Instead, spend your time infusing your home page and other key pages with personality, so your website doesn’t look like just another liquor store.
Some inventory management systems also allow you to add custom tags to items (e.g. Irish whiskey, Spanish red wine), which you or a customer can use to search for items.
Last, make sure you include your contact information throughout the website. Not only will this help your website rank better in local searches, it gives customers a chance to call or email with any questions.
Unlock Your Potential With Bottle POS’ Liquor Store E-Commerce Capabilities
Your store needs to take advantage of the growing e-commerce market, and you need the right POS system to handle it.
Bottle POS is designed with liquor store e-commerce in mind. It not only supports seamless inventory management, but integrates with Bottle Zoo, a platform specifically created for liquor store customers.
This tailored approach ensures that your e-commerce experience is just as enriching and personalized as a visit to your brick-and-mortar store. By aligning your business with Bottle POS, you can access a system that understands your market, unique needs, and customer base.
By combining these best practices with Bottle POS’ powerful e-commerce features and capabilities, you’re not just surviving in the digital marketplace — you’re thriving. To find the perfect combination of features and hardware for your liquor store, try our build and price tool today.
