A decade ago, all you needed was a website to stand out online. There was no requisite for chatbots or fancy digital cart features, and SEO was still a new concept that businesses were in no rush to figure out.
Fast forward to today, and the ecommerce market has never been more competitive. Now, AI chatbots are welcoming you to almost every website you visit and proper SEO usage is a must. Without a specified team dedicated to keeping your site up to date, you might as well not even exist online.
The Coveo 2024 Commerce Industry Report found that 91% of consumers expect the online buying experience to be better than, or equal to, the traditional in-store experience. That’s a huge percentage of shoppers with high expectations.
And because the competition is so fierce, if consumers encounter any problems with your website or can’t find what they’re looking for, they’ll simply go somewhere else.
We spoke with a handful of on- and off-premise retailers who are succeeding at ecommerce to see what they’re doing right.
Pairing Online Experiences with Sales
Heritage Distilling’s CEO Justin Stiefel says the first thing retailers should pay attention to when looking to boost ecommerce sales is to focus on your margins.
“You have to really focus on premium products where you have margins to play with, whether it’s going to support shipping or support more advertising,” he advises. “The more premium you make it, the more margin dollars you can generate.”
While only selling premium products can deter many customers, offering a happy medium between lower and higher priced items allows for more wiggle room with margins.
Generating margin dollars is crucial to improving your ecommerce presence. It gives you more ad spend and the ability to make the shopping experience more seamless, which is another important factor for websites, according to Tequila Tromba’s CEO and co-founder Eric Brass.
“The real winners in alcohol ecommerce are the ones delivering convenience without losing experience,” he says. “Fast delivery and curated selections are all big drivers, but it’s not just about selling a bottle — it’s about storytelling.”
The brands and retailers thriving online are the ones offering an education along with the sale.
“Teach your customers about tasting notes, cocktail pairings and maybe even offer live virtual tastings,” Brass continues. “Customers want more than just a transaction — they want to feel like they’re discovering something special.”
Tequila Tromba features a variety of special elements on their website, including cocktail recipes, educational information on how their tequila is made and a video explaining the history of the brand.
The special experience element is so important — and it doesn’t just apply to ecommerce. It’s also a great feature to add in stores to not only attract customers and encourage sales, but to help create loyal customers, as well.
Get Personal with Ecommerce
Wine retailer Taste56 came up with a unique way of boosting ecommerce sales through in-store experiences.
“In-store, we offer a rotating list of 56 wines organized by style and available to taste so customers can discover wines they truly love, rather than being told what they should like,” says founder and CEO James Fantaci.
When customers do an in-store tasting, it’s followed up with an email where they can then rate the wines. Once the wines are rated, they receive unique recommendations from Taste56’s ‘Digital Somm,’ the retailer’s algorithm for product suggestions.
“The unique nature of the in-store experience introduces the customer to our approach, with the relationship continuing online,” Fantaci says.
During a time when wine sales are less than desirable, Taste56’s ecommerce transactions are thriving due to the personalized nature of helping customers find a wine that suits them.
“We started Taste56 because shopping for wine is intimidating, confusing and dated,” notes Fantaci. “We focus on creating a relationship with the consumer that improves their experience, not just selling wine.”
It’s important to note that selling alcohol online isn’t the same as selling sneakers. A generic, one-size-fits-all approach falls flat, and shoppers can’t return a beverage if they don’t like the taste.
“You’re missing the point if you’re not helping people explore, taste and understand what makes a bottle unique,” says Tequila Tromba’s Brass.
If you need helping coming up with different ideas to be more personal or experiential, Brass offers some advice: “Think beyond the bottle. Offer cocktail recipes, highlight the craftsmanship and create bundles that make it easy for customers to get everything they need for a great dinner party. Engaging content, social proof and customer interaction can turn a one-time buyer into a lifelong fan.”
Ecommerce is All in the Details
When it comes to shipping your alcohol, there are a variety of ways to make the experience better for customers. According to Heritage Distilling’s Stiefel, offering them the ability to track their shipments is a great start.
“Tracking your shipments delivers really good backend customer service because there’s always mistakes, but at least customers will know where their packages are,” he says.
And while it can sometimes be an added annoyance, it’s extremely important to make sure the delivery carrier is checking signatures.
“Don’t ignore age verification and compliance requirements,” advises Whisky Tasting Company’s Sinclair. “You may even need to ask the customer if they are of drinking age before they can use the site. Don’t skip this, as it could lead to your site being shut down and maybe even result in legal issues.”
Agreeing with Sinclair is Stiefel, saying it’s crucial to make sure the person receiving the package is 21 or older.
“None of us in this industry can afford to have a bunch of folks out there loosely greasing their rules, resulting in legislators closing things down,” he says. “The most important thing is the obligation we have to public safety and to the customer experience.”
Table Wine to Go
Once you add the experiential elements to your website and have your shipping logistics down pat, now it’s time to promote it.
Aside from traditional advertising methods, such as through social media promotion or paid SEO, a bar and restaurant in Miami, called SORA, is putting digital menus on tables where guests can not only peruse on-premise options, but also purchase items and have them shipped to their home.
SORA is an omakase lounge created by Hotel Collection, a luxury lifestyle brand offering home goods like bedding, stemware, candles and more. Hotel Collection also owns vineyards and sells wine, along with its own caviar.
Founder and CEO Benzion Aboud wanted to create SORA not only as a neighborhood sushi and wine bar destination, but also as a physical and digital “showroom” for Hotel Collection items. For example, if customers love the glass of wine they are sipping, they can easily pull up a digital ecommerce menu and purchase not only the wine itself, but the stemware, too.
“On every table, guests will find SORA’s integrated menu within our Hotel Collection catalog merchandise, including our wine subscriptions, so diners can purchase with just a few clicks straight from their table,” Aboud says.
Even if customers don’t live in Miami, they can still have bottles shipped to their homes. SORA is able to ship wine nationwide through its parent company, Wine by Hotel Collection, which has an established online wine business, according to Aboud.
When it comes to digitally marketing your ecommerce website, social media and SEO are options that shouldn’t be overlooked. Both can successfully get consumers to interact with your brand and drive traffic to your website.
“Being active on social media and creating content like recipes and tutorials is a great way to drive traffic to your store and add credibility to your brand,” advises Colin Sinclair, director of Whisky Tasting Company.
“I also highly recommend investing some time in optimizing the website for search engines, which will help drive more organic traffic to your site,” he continues.
The most important thing to remember when marketing your ecommerce site? Be authentic.
“Consumers are savvier than ever and can spot a generic sales pitch a mile away. The brands and retailers standing out are the ones leading into their unique stories,” says Brass. “Share your story with your customers and combine that with smart logistics, easy website navigation and a little creativity, and you’ve got a formula for ecommerce success.”
