Prime Now Alcohol Sales: What the Data Says
Alcohol seems to be an under-developed category on Prime Now, which is evident by the lack of category listing on the website. However, shoppers can still find plenty of these products via search. Here, we used the term “beer” and analyzed the available offerings. While every city returns results for “beer,” only six cities are actually selling alcohol.
For example, one of the top items returned for the search query “beer” across all locations are GoPong beer pong tables and Tossware cocktail glasses. Also populating the results are root beer brands such as Dr. Pepper and Virgil’s. This is a good sign for brands looking to position their related items against key search terms, something that is not possible on Amazon.com without a targeted marketing campaign. However, this can hurt Beer brands that are looking to break into the category on Prime Now or that are facing tough competition.
In the Beauty and Personal Care segment, 77% of items analyzed were sold directly by Amazon. That number drops to only 16% (one of six) for Beer items. Alcohol delivery is a tricky category due to the differing laws that govern alcohol sales across state, county, and even city lines. For this reason, Amazon’s ability to deliver may be limited by the law. In many cases, Amazon will have to partner with local stores for fulfillment. Brands will have to track which stores are being used for delivery from Amazon and make sure item availability is maintained at these locations.
It should also be noted that Prime Now is being treated as a unique storefront on Amazon. We noticed that although the same products could be listed on both Amazon and Prime Now, they could contain different product content. Shoppers may surface different items on Amazon and Prime Now despite using identical search terms. When possible, brands should align the content being used on both store fronts. Additionally, product availability also impacts search results; out-of-stocks on either Amazon or Prime Now could cause further consumer confusion. The need to optimize search on multiple Amazon storefronts creates more complexity for brands. While content on Amazon and Prime Now is currently disassociated, Amazon has started to link reviews between the sites, meaning new items listed on Prime Now can have thousands of reviews right away.
Want a Wide On-Demand Beer Selection? Better move to San Diego
The top 10 major Beer brands listed on Amazon Prime Now, such as Lagunitas, Heineken, and Budweiser, only comprises 8% of all search returns for “beer.” This shows not only the depth and breadth of selection for craft and local Beer brands, but highlights the impact of competition from root beer and other non-alcoholic items.
When we limit the results to actually Beer sales, we find that only six cities have Beer available for Prime Now shoppers. The location distribution of Beer items was not heavily concentrated, but San Diego clearly offered more products than other cities. For brands looking to excel in this market, it will be important to cover the biggest available markets before moving on to smaller opportunities.
Prime Now: Delighting the Shopper and Raising Expectations
Amazon Prime Now creates a new exciting opportunity for brands. With two-hour delivery now in play, brands can expect increased consumer demand for items on Prime Now. However, in its current iteration, the Prime Now service presents challenges. Beer brands are going to have to work extra hard to optimize against key search terms to outperform unrelated items. Brands that establish themselves as early leaders on Prime Now may reap the benefits as this platform grows and shoppers discover the convenience of on-demand beer delivery.
