The majority of craft beer consumers say they would purchase more craft if direct-to-consumer (DTC) shipping was available, according to a Harris Poll by Sovos ShipCompliant, a bev-alc compliance software company.
Sovos surveyed 765 “regular craft beer drinkers,” defined as legal-drinking-age (LDA) U.S. consumers who drink craft at least once per month.
Four-in-five (79%) respondents said they would buy more craft beer if there was a DTC shipping option, up from 75% in 2022. Additionally, 85% of respondents said the ability to purchase beer via DTC would make them more likely to try out-of-state beer, up from 77% in 2022.
Eleven states, plus Washington, D.C., permit some form of DTC shipping for beer: Alaska, Kentucky, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Vermont, Virginia, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island. Efforts to legalize are underway in some states, including Texas and Illinois. Comparatively, wine can be shipped in 47 states, plus Washington, D.C.
In the states that do allow DTC shipping of beer, there are 15% more beer distributor jobs per capita than in states without DTC shipping, according to Sovos. Similarly, “wine and spirit wholesale jobs and liquor store jobs have increased as a percentage of the population” as states allowing DTC shipping of wine increased from 27 states to 47 states, Sovos wrote.
“The experience from the wine industry and the limited states that currently allow direct-to-consumer beer shipping underline the success of this model in beverage alcohol, how it complements the three-tier system and the model’s responsibility and compliance,” Sovos said in its report.
Efforts to add DTC shipping failed in Maine, New York and California in 2022. Those against updating state laws have argued that DTC shipping side-steps the three-tier system. However, Sovos said the option is a “complement” to the three-tier system that fills “gaps in the model and counts for today’s market realities and consumer preferences and buying habits.”
“Even as brewery brewpubs and taprooms have proliferated, the vast majority of beer, including craft beer, continues to go through distributed channels,” Sovos wrote. “Direct-to-consumer allows brewers to access the market at small scale, with the potential to distribute later if desired.
“Furthermore, the model of requiring distribution as the only opportunity to sell outside a brewery is quite challenging for most small breweries,” Sovos continued. “Most beer distributors and many retailers value scale and velocity and most brewers have limited distributor options in their local markets. Distribution markets have continued to consolidate, threatening market access and squeezing out smaller brewers, making other viable and proven options critical for both brewers and consumers.”
DTC shipping could also create more natural marketing for breweries, according to Sovos. More than four-in-five respondents (85%) said they would likely recommend a brewery to family and friends if DTC shipping was an option, while 72% said they would share or post about said brewery on social media. Additionally, the majority of consumers (86%) said they would “think more positively” of a brewery if DTC was an option.
Nearly four-in-five respondents (79%) said they were likely to purchase beer via DTC shipping in the future, while 37% were “very likely to” purchase. Of that 79%, 61% were male and 39% were female.
Consumers in support of DTC shipping skew younger, as 37% of those who intend to purchase beer via DTC in the future were 21-34 years old and 30% were 35-44. Supporters also skew higher income, with nearly half (49%) having an annual household income of $100,000 or more.
Nearly three-quarters (72%) of respondents said they would spend $50 or more a month if DTC was an option. More than half (51%) said they would spend $100 or more per month if they could. Additionally, 71% said they would sign up for a beer subscription club.
“While it’s difficult to directly predict consumer spending from a survey, these numbers underline the consumer demand for direct shipping options,” Sovos wrote.