In this presentation on beverage alcohol e-commerce in 2026 at Bar Convent Brooklyn, Susan Mooney, CEO of Spirits Consulting Group and a 21-year industry veteran across marketing, trade, and digital execution, discusses optimizing your brand’s digital sales funnel within the U.S. three-tier system. Susan identifies the 4 Most Common Fixable E-Commerce Problems destroying online conversion.
Park Street Imports is the back-office and importing solution for alcoholic beverage brands launching and scaling in the U.S. market.
Susan Mooney’s Presentation Transcript
I am Susan Mooney from Spirits Consulting Group. I’ve spent 21 years in the industry across marketing, on-premise, and off-premise, focusing heavily on e-commerce since 2015 due to the incredible growth opportunities it offers challenger brands.
When working with clients in the e-commerce space, we consistently observe four fixable core problems that limit success:
A Sales Funnel Mismatch: The e-commerce funnel fails to meet modern consumer expectations shaped by mainstream online retail.
A Disjointed Sales Process: Brand awareness initiatives (social media, live events, activations) are disconnected from the consumer’s ability to seamlessly purchase the liquid.
Zero Integration with Real Life: Brands treat digital technology as an isolated island, neglecting the human, “liquid-on-lips” hospitality element required to bridge offline events with online reorders.
Neglecting the B2B Digital Touchpoints: Ignoring how distributors, brokers, and retail liquor stores present your product online, leaving them without the digital tools needed to sell your brand effectively.
What Today’s E-Commerce Consumer Expects
We are living in the “Amazonification” era of e-commerce. While beverage alcohol must navigate the three-tiered system and comply with licensed home delivery, the end consumer remains unaware of these regulatory complexities. They simply demand an effortless checkout experience.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ MODERN E-COMMERCE CONSUMER EXPECTATIONS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ 1. Unified Omnichannel Reality ➔ Consistent brand identity across desktop, │
│ mobile, and in-person touchpoints. │
│ │
│ 2. Mobile-First Optimization ➔ ~70% of online spirits purchases across all │
│ demographics occur on mobile devices. │
│ │
│ 3. Agentic AI & Structured Data➔ AI search tools (Google AEO/GEO) rely on │
│ structured back-end data to answer direct user queries (e.g., "best gift │
│ for Father's Day" or "ingredients for a Negroni"). │
│ │
│ 4. Post-Purchase Personalization➔ Purchase is the STARTING point, not the │
│ end. Track buying frequency, favorite SKUs, and offer VIP early access. │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Overcoming the Disjointed Sales Journey
A major pitfall for emerging brands is creating unnecessary friction along the buyer’s journey. Optimizing digital touchpoints requires attention across three primary areas:
1. Technical Site Architecture & Product Detail Pages (PDPs)
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Fewer Clicks to Conversion: Ensure “Shop Now” buttons are prominent. Ad campaigns must route traffic directly to the specific Product Detail Page (PDP) rather than a generic homepage.
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Tiered PDP Information: Because the PDP is often the only page a prospective buyer sees, structure the content for varied attention spans:
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Snackable Data: Quick bullet points, awards, and primary tasting notes for fast conversion.
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Mid-Tier Detail: Production highlights and serve recommendations for browser evaluation.
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Deep-Dive Background: Comprehensive brand story, sourcing, and mash-bill details accessible via “Learn More” links.
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2. Content Strategy
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Avoid Repetitive Bottle Shots: Organic social feeds (like Instagram) exist to drive awareness and entertainment, not to serve as a catalog of static bottle shots. Show behind-the-scenes content, human experiences, and brand culture.
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Clear, Crisp Messaging: Keep copy concise to accommodate short online attention spans.
3. Respecting the Awareness Funnel
Many brand founders ask: “Can’t we skip the brand awareness campaign and jump straight to conversion ads?”
Due to digital ad saturation, today’s data shows it takes 7 to 12 consumer impressions before a buyer remembers a new brand—compared to just 3 to 5 touchpoints a decade ago. Skipping top-of-funnel awareness damages conversion performance.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ELIMINATING INTERNAL SILOS │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ • Align Agency KPIs: Ensure social media teams, live event organizers, and │
│ digital ad agencies share unified performance metrics. │
│ │
│ • Single-Dashboard Analytics: Consolidate depletion reports, social metrics,│
│ and e-commerce sales into a unified dashboard to eliminate data silos. │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Bridging “Real Life” Activations with E-Commerce
Executing expensive live events without capturing consumer contact information is an inefficient use of marketing capital. Brands must actively connect real-world sampling with digital reorder channels:
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Capture Event Data: Never host a live sampling or festival activation without a digital incentive (e.g., QR codes offering exclusive bundles or shipping discounts) to capture email and SMS contacts.
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Host Interactive Digital Masterclasses: Post-event or post-purchase, invite buyers to exclusive, interactive online cocktail workshops or virtual masterclasses with the master distiller.
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Utilize Consumer Data: Unlike traditional wholesale distribution—where consumer data is retained by the retailer or distributor—e-commerce grants direct access to buyer insights. Analyze depletion reports, track reorder cadence, and identify your core consumer demographics.
Summary: Remain consumer-focused, align your team’s KPIs, build mobile-optimized and AI-ready digital platforms, and use your sales data to drive sustainable, long-term brand equity.