Deals, choice and low inflation: beverage, sparkling wine in the lead, soars in web searches

Wine, the kind with bubbles, is the most sought-after drink on the Internet. People access the web and open pages to get information, work, but also to buy a drink (whether alcoholic or non-alcoholic), with an eye always on not missing out on an offer perhaps not present in the physical store. E-commerce in food & beverage is a growing reality, and Idealo, the popular portal on price comparison, delved into whether online interest in the beverage world has also grown in 2023 and in which market segments. While last year on the Italian portal 97 of purchase intentions related to the beverage world alone, and only 3 % to non-alcoholic beverages, this year the segment also saw significant growth for non-alcoholic beverages, which accounted for more than 6 % of the total.
After all, the “food & beverage market” in Italy is constantly on the rise and is worth more than 200 billion euros, employing 2 million people. Although the largest slice of online searches in “Eating & Drinking” remains prerogative of Champagne, Prosecco and sparkling wines (29%), coffee (23%) also finds its important audience. Third place on the podium, for liquors (9%), followed by whiskey (8%), wines (7%), gin (7%) and rum (5%). But, energy drinks, soft drinks and tea also appear in the rankings for the first time, showing that the entire industry is now opening up to the e-commerce world. As the holidays approach, searches for spirits grow further with a significant +50% for gin in the first week of December over the last week of November, but equally positive data for whiskey (+34%), liqueurs (+21%), Champagne and Prosecco (+14%).
The recent growth in online interest in beverages may also have been aided by a lower inflation rate than in other commodity sectors. In fact, with the exception of beers, which on average have increased in cost by more than 48%, vodka has cost an average of 7% less, rum, liqueurs and sparkling wines have held their prices constant, while fruit juices, coffee, gin and whiskey have marked price increases between 1 and 4%.
Moreover, the savings for those who decide to buy online are increasingly substantial: in the past year those who bought energy drinks and fruit juices on digital channels saved up to 26%, for Prosecco, Champagne and sparkling wines up to 24%, and for coffee up to 16%. Oil, which is beginning to be the subject of price comparisons given the sharp increase in prices to which it is subjected, is a story in itself. Suffice it to say that, this year, a liter of extra virgin olive oil came to cost almost 20% more online over the previous year.
“The growing attention to the online beverage sector reflects an increasing interest in the entire beverage sector in Italy”, commented Antonio Pilello, Idealo communications manager for Italy. “Thanks to lower inflation, savings possible through price comparisons and a wide range of offers, the sector is experiencing a growth phase, with particularly positive trends for the soft drinks market as well”.