Online beer sales still hampered by antiquated laws

USA | ZX Ventures, AB-InBev’s global innovation unit, is working across North America to “elevate the beer category online”, which still only represents less than 1 percent of the US food retail sales in 2017.

According to data provided by ZX Ventures in March 2019, only 6 percent of the adult beer-purchasing population (aged 21+) has bought beer online in the past. More than a quarter of American consumers (28 percent) do not even know they can buy beer online. This shows “an awareness gap in states where online purchasing is legal for adults of legal age.”

One hurdle is the limitations imposed by regulations in the beer and alcohol sector. Many alcohol laws are post-Prohibition and have not been modernised.

The main problem, according to Forbes magazine, is that the US Post Office does not allow the shipment of alcohol at all. But even when private carriers are used, only five states permit the shipment of all forms of alcohol and only eight allow the shipment of beer. Further, the states that do permit the direct shipment of alcohol to consumers have additional strictures in place, such as limits on how much booze can be sent during a certain time frame.

An October 2018 report from Moody’s puts the online penetration for grocery at less than 2 percent of US food retail sales, although major US retailers have poured billions of dollars into online grocery in the wake of Amazon’s acquisition of Whole Foods, a chain of organic supermarkets, in 2017.

ZX Ventures contributed 10 percent to AB-InBev’s 2018 turnover growth, Carlos Brito, CEO of AB-InBev, said on 28 February 2019 during the company’s 2018 results presentation. As group turnover grew 5 percent, ZX Ventures’ share was 0.5 percent. But turnover growth was “organic” – or cosmetic. In real terms, group turnover declined 3 percent to USD 56 billion.