E-commerce luxury spirits platform ReserveBar announced today that it will now provide on-demand sales, a move that reflects the changing landscape of online alcohol shopping and underscores the company’s ongoing mission to bridge the technology gap between alcohol producers and consumers.
In 2021, ReserveBar acquired Minibar Delivery, an online marketplace that offers on-demand delivery of beer, wine and spirits. That acquisition positioned ReserveBar to access the fulfillment network, thousands of retailers, and technology to integrate the same delivery services to its curated luxury and education-focused site.
“Even when you’re talking about luxury goods, gift-giving or new products, the consumer expectations in the world today, and particularly in the U.S., is that people should get anything they want right now,” said ReserveBar president Derek Correia. “So that’s what we’ve been moving towards for the last year.”
Correia and CEO Lindsay Held insist ReserveBar will still be focused on premium products with enhanced shopping experiences such as limited editions and gift-giving features, differentiating itself from platforms that function as everyday online liquor stores. The site also recently launched a barrel reserve program offering single barrels of select spirits exclusively on the platform.
The on-demand function will allow ReserveBar to deliver products to consumers within 30 to 60 minutes of purchase Additional features include advanced notification of availability, the ability to schedule shipping time and faster site responsiveness.
But rapid delivery is only one component of ReserveBar’s vision to continue its triple-digit growth in the alcohol e-commerce landscape. As part of the new service, the founders are providing an e-commerce solution that will enable alcohol shopping on third party partner sites; for instance, alcohol brand websites.
“Now they can actually turn that traffic directly into a depletion from a retail store and control that brand experience the whole way through and do it in a compliant fashion with our technology,” said Correia.
By building a multifaceted model, the company is putting itself in position to meet the emerging needs of online alcohol shoppers. Over the next five years, total beverage alcohol e-commerce sales across key global markets are expected to grow by +66%, to reach more than $42 billion, according to a report by alcohol data company IWSR. And those online business models for alcohol sales are becoming more diverse.
On one hand, older consumers seeking known brands and good prices are accessing traditional e-commerce via single-brand websites. Meanwhile, younger consumers are willing to pay for rapid delivery and looking for interesting and premium brands via modern app-driven e-commerce – often on-demand or marketplaces, according to the same report.
Correia also envisions ReserveBar technology used in alcohol-adjacent sites, like florists and retailers that specialize in gift giving. That includes publishers, where affiliate marketing can be enhanced with a buying option on-site, versus links to retailers.
“This is the integration that is starting to take place that we call e-commerce everywhere,” said Held. “And the suppliers that are savvy are starting to take advantage of it.”
As for the future of alcohol online shopping, Correia is focused on media optimization. Shoppable video e-commerce, in which consumers can add products to their carts while watching videos about their favorite brands, is one of them. The company is collaborating with companies to create shoppable video content.
“This isn’t kitchen cleaning products.We are lucky to be in an industry that people watch videos on, whether it’s cocktails and mixology or the story of how spirits are distilled or barrel aged,” he said.
By expanding its consumer reach, the duo plans to enhance its arsenal of data and services for suppliers. The site has increasingly become a platform to launch brands, and the company’s preorder function is one tool that allows brands to use data from sales to inform the target market, creative media strategy, or even ramp up or slow production.
“We have a tremendous amount of data and business intelligence that our business generates that’s incredibly valuable to brands,” said Correia.
After the MiniBar acquisition, Held said ReserveBar will continue to seek out acquisition targets and grow in “an opportunistic manner” by focusing on its position as both a CPG and a technology company. For now, the duo hinted at the company’s next move: a site specifically dedicated to ready-to-drink products that will be announced soon.