Wine and alcoholic drinks, moderate optimism for e-commerce sales in the next years

The value of global alcoholic beverage sales through e-commerce declined for the third consecutive year in 2024, but the channel is showing clear signs of resilience, with a modest return to growth expected in the coming years. In fact, for the period 2024-2029, according to the Ecommerce Strategic Study 2025, which covers over 85% of global e-commerce value and is published by Iwsr - International Wine and Spirits Record (the world leader in data and insights on alcoholic beverages), a value growth of +3% is forecasted. However, despite moderate optimism about e-commerce, overall spending on alcohol remains stubbornly low. Consumers continue to prioritize household necessities over alcohol, despite early signs of improving financial confidence, and moderation is becoming normalized, according to Iwsr Bevtrac consumer research.
In 2024, e-commerce share of total alcoholic beverage value remained stable at 3.5%, a level that Iwsr expects will hold before returning to growth, reaching share 3.8% in 2029. This relative stability in 2024 follows a rollercoaster period for online alcohol sales, from rapid growth during the Covid-19 pandemic (+35%), to a subsequent correction in 2023 (-5%), and then a smaller decline last year. For the 2024-29 period, Iwsr forecasts a value growth of +3%. “After two years of correction, with channel dynamics normalizing following the pandemic, alcohol e-commerce sales have stabilized and are set to return to modest growth during the forecast period - affirms Guy Wolfe, responsible of e-commerce insights -  our consumer research suggests that online usage declined again in 2025, but to a lesser extent than the physical off-trade channel, indicating greater resilience in the digital channel. Usage frequency remains stable in most markets, with China as an exception, while volume size and total spend continue to be significantly higher in e-commerce compared to off-trade. Therefore, online growth is expected to outpace that of the wider market, gaining a modest share of total alcohol and off-trade channels in the coming years”.
In a volatile political and macroeconomic context, consumers show tentative signs of strengthening financial confidence, but not enough to reverse the ongoing decline in alcohol consumption across major global markets. According to Iwsr Bevtrac consumer research, carried out in 15 leading markets in September 2025, people continue to prioritize spending on essential goods such as food and personal care over alcohol, in a context of ongoing economic and inflationary pressures. There are signals that the situation is beginning to stabilize, but net spending remains clearly negative, and even higher-income groups, traditionally more insulated from recessions, continue to reduce their budgets.
Financial confidence is rising in markets such as the UK, US, and Spain, but so far this improvement has not translated into a positive boost for total alcohol expenditure. Consumers with higher income in 11 out of 15 markets show a negative trend in alcohol expenditure with the main exceptions in India and China (where only urban middle-class consumers are surveyed).
Alcohol consumption rates among Generation Z are still higher than two years ago but have largely stabilized over the past 12 months: in September 2025, 74% of Gen Z consumers drank alcohol, compared to 72% in September 2023.