Vintage Cellars and 1st Choice are the preferred options for Australian online liquor purchases, according to new Roy Morgan Research data.

The research indicates that 2.5 per cent of Australian adults purchase alcohol via the internet in any given four weeks, with Vintage Cellars and 1st Choice customers considerably more likely than the average Aussie to buy booze online.

In the two years to June 2014, 11 per cent of Vintage Cellars customers made an online alcohol purchase in any given four week period, as did 7.2 per cent of 1st Choice customers.

Incidentally, 1st Choice and Vintage Cellars are both owned by Coles Supermarkets, while Dan Murphy’s and BWS (whose customers were third and fifth respectively for buying booze online) are owned by Woolworths.

Special price offers are a driver for 59 per cent of Australians over 18 years old who bought alcohol in an average four weeks agreed  while 71  per cent of 1st Choice customers claim they shop where there are ‘good specials’. By comparison, this was even higher than Aldi liquor customers at 69 per cent).

This could explain why 1st Choice customers are more likely to buy alcohol over the internet, taking advantage of the lower prices often found online.

Beyond booze

It’s not just alcohol that customers of Vintage Cellars and 1st Choice are buying online. They are also more likely than the average Australian to buy groceries online, and over index for online shopping generally.

While two per cent of Aussie adults buy groceries online in an average four week period, this figure rises to 6.2 per cent among Vintage Cellars customers and 2.8 per cent among 1st Choice customers.

Customers of Dan Murphy’s and BWS are slightly less likely, with 1.8 per cent and 1.9 per cent respectively doing their grocery shopping on the internet.

Warren Reid, group account director at Roy Morgan Research, says that while Coles-owned liquor stores are not as popular as their Woolworths rivals in terms of visitation,  the findings show their customers have a greater preference for online as a shopping channel, whether it’s for buying alcohol, groceries, or other products.

“This represents an exciting opportunity for Coles to develop this side of its liquor operations to encourage customers who may be more used to visiting their bricks and mortar stores or buying their booze from other online sources,” said Reid.

“As we’ve seen, 1st Choice customers are far more concerned with snagging a special than those of other major liquor chains, and are also more likely to have bought groceries online. By making more online exclusive offers, for example, offering bigger discounts if you buy alcohol and groceries in the one order, might be one simple way of increasing sales among those customers.

“Buying alcohol online is becoming increasingly popular, and retailers that respond innovatively to this trend stand to succeed in this competitive, digital market,” he said.