For direct-to-consumer (DtC) spirits shipping, the story of the past five years is less about what has changed than about what hasn’t: consumer demand. The fifth annual Direct-to-Consumer Spirits Shipping Report, produced by Sovos ShipCompliant with The Harris Poll and the American Craft Spirits Association (ACSA), shows regular craft spirits drinkers asking for the same thing year after year, and the findings give distillers plenty to work with. Here’s what stands out.
The State of DtC Spirits Shipping: What 2026 Reveals
Every year since 2022, we’ve asked regular craft spirits drinkers the same questions about DtC shipping. Every year, they’ve given essentially the same answers. In meaningful ways, that consistency is the finding, and this year’s report gives distillers a solid basis for planning around it.
Consumer demand has held steady since 2022
Support for expanded DtC spirits shipping among regular craft spirits drinkers has stayed in a 79%-82% range for five years (81% in 2026). Among all Americans 21+, it has edged up from 64% to a five-year high of 68%.
Because year-to-year changes of a point or two fall within the survey’s margin of error, the five-year range gives a more dependable picture than any single year. Over that period, support among regular craft spirits drinkers has stayed between 79% and 82%, which gives distilleries considering a DtC program a consistent preference to plan around.
DtC is about discovery, not convenience
Seventy-six percent of regular craft spirits drinkers have found a spirit while traveling that they wished they could buy at home, and 81% say they’d be more likely to try new brands if those could ship to them. That interest extends across the country, ranging from 72% in the Midwest to 84% in both the Northeast and South.
The research shows that consumers aren’t asking for DtC because it’s easier than the visiting a retail oulet; they’re asking because the store doesn’t carry what they found on the road. That makes DtC less a substitute for retail than an extension of the tasting room, which is why the ACSA ties it to distillery tourism: visitors can keep buying after they go home.
The DtC spirits customer is frequent, loyal, and engaged
Among regular craft spirits drinkers likely to buy via DtC, 81% would buy at least monthly, and 19% weekly or more. They’d spend roughly $119 a month, and 22% would spend $200 or more (up from 17% in 2022).
The loyalty numbers are just as strong, as they have been for years. If a distillery offered DtC shipping:
- 85% would think more positively of it
- 83% would recommend it and 83% would buy more often
- 73% would join its spirits club
The average-spend figure is an upper bound for a segment, so it should be treated as potential, not a forecast. Still, frequency and loyalty point to recurring revenue that spirits clubs and subscriptions can provide.
DtC is a retail growth strategy, not a threat
Perhaps the most useful stat for anyone in the room with a distributor is this: 94% of likely DtC buyers say they’d look for a brand at retail after enjoying it via DtC, and 49% say they’d be very likely to. That’s up from 92% in both 2024 and 2025.
That makes DtC a discovery engine. A customer in a state where you have no distribution can try your brand, fall in love with it, and then ask a local retailer to stock it. For distillers who struggle to find distribution, it’s a way to build proof of demand before the wholesale conversation. The ACSA’s perspective in the report says it plainly: DtC doesn’t replace wholesalers or retailers, but it gives craft distillers a complementary route to market when traditional distribution is unavailable or impractical.
What to Expect from DtC Spirits Shipping in 2027
California won’t be the only state in play. Lobbying in Missouri, Hawaii, South Dakota, and Iowa gained traction in 2026, and exploratory efforts in Colorado point to a more favorable climate. Washington’s in-state-only DtC spirits law is also being challenged in court, since in-state-only shipping likely violates the Granholm principle.
There’s also precedent on distillers’ side. Wine DtC has operated for more than 20 years since Granholm, expanded to almost every state and become a $3+ billion annual market, and the concerns raised against it haven’t materialized. Legislators considering DtC spirits have a track record to point to.
What can distillers do now?
- Work with your state guild. The report’s best advice for states without a DtC law is to get a bill introduced. In states with a bill, rally your support.
- Put your customers to work. Even a signed letter to a legislator helps. With demand this high, your customer list is one of the industry’s strongest assets.
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