Though consumption channels are slowly migrating from being store-centric to e-commerce, certain segments face hurdles — both regulatory and logistically — to be sold online. One such segment is the alcohol and spirits market, where companies looking to sell products online must comply with a myriad of federal and state regulations that vary across state lines.
FreightWaves connected with Spirit Hub, a leading alcohol e-commerce company, to understand how it ensures logistics companies are not put at risk by working on a direct-to-consumer (DTC) model.
“Traditional retail in the industry is about having an omni-channel approach to business, where it is local e-commerce and physical retail. You also have aggregators in the market who aggregate retail liquor stores from around the U.S. and outside,” said Michael Weiss, the CEO and founder of Spirit Hub. “We are a blended hybrid, where we are a physical retail liquor licensee and take the risk by purchasing inventory ourselves and are an e-commerce solution exclusively since inception.”
Weiss explained that the DTC model is a constant struggle for organizations as it is ever evolving. In DTC, customers require a certain level of transparency and also expect convenience in getting delivery. When companies take those two elements and tie it to liquor and regulation, they see challenges that look overwhelmingly complex.
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