Uncorking the potential: selling alcohol online

Rebecca Lowe, Partner

Online alcohol sales have significantly increased in the UK over the last five years, with retailers taking advantage of customer preferences for convenience and variety.

IBISWorld’s industry data indicates that online wine sales have been especially strong, accounting for 60.3% of the market, followed by spirits at 23.8% and beer at 13.2%.

The rise of wine subscription services has also played a significant role in the expansion of the online alcohol market by capitalising on the appeal of a streamlined purchasing process, saving consumers time that would otherwise be spent on making repeated purchases.

However, selling alcohol online isn’t as simple as launching a website, there are various regulatory requirements before any such sales can proceed.

Much like selling alcohol for consumption on or at a physical premises, operators need a premises licence to legally sell alcohol online. This premises licence will be in respect of the exact location where the alcoholic products are physically picked, packed and dispatched to a consumer – be that a warehouse, storage facility or unit. The premises licence must allow alcohol to be sold for consumption off the premises.

When applying for such a licence, an applicant will be required to describe how they will promote the four licensing objectives. Of key concern will be ensuring that alcohol does not fall into the wrong hands, as there is an increased risk when selling alcoholic products online that orders may be delivered to those under the age of 18. This means that applicants must carefully consider what positive steps will be taken to verify a customer’s age. Age verification can take place at multiple stages throughout the online sales process, from the point of sale to the delivery of goods.

Whilst the Licensing Act 2003 currently only requires licence holders to verify the age of customers at the point of sale, the previous government ran a consultation on whether age checks at the point of delivery should be introduced and it possible that this will be required in future. Certain authorities may already look to introduce conditions that require identification checks on delivery to reduce the risks of alcohol being delivered to someone underage.

However, selling alcohol online is not only an option as a standalone business model. An existing bar, café, restaurant or shop premises could take advantage of their existing premises licence to diversify into online sales. If a premises licence already permits sale of alcohol for consumption off the premises, and has no restrictive conditions, it might even be possible to proceed with such a diversification without any application at all. For other premises, a variation might be needed to facilitate this.

Our Licensing Team can advise all types of operators and business models on proposed online sales of alcohol. Contact us on 0161 838 7888.