How Online Orders Have Helped These Breweries in Discovering Possible New Sales Patterns

​The switch to an online portal may need some extra time and work on the backend to become functional, but for ​​Chuck Aaron, the CEO of Jersey Girl Brewing, there were not a lot of drawbacks to the online store option other than on-going maintenance time.

“​Our online store has allowed us to put the process of purchasing beer at the convenience and availability of the customer,” he said, adding that Jersey Girl gives the option for a consumer to schedule a time to pick up that works for them.

“It’s an empowerment to the consumer we were not able to offer to them before,” he said. “They can take their time and weigh out options before choosing.”

So a benefit from this on the packaging end is that Jersey Girl staff then has been able to prepackage and reduce pressure on its team.

“Once we had a few weeks of data, we could see trends of item sales,” Aaron said. “From that, we started to pre-crowler beers in the slower periods so that when orders came in we could flip them faster.”

Topa Topa has started to use data from shipping its beer to various regions of California to help solidify founder Jack Dyer’s case with potential distributor partners.

For Stable Craft, its online portal has begun to offer 4- and 6-packs on bottles along with offering case incentives and multi-case deals. Owner Craig Nargi said they have also been able to offer a recyclable one-way keg system for home kegerators.

Ozark Beer has recently transitioned out of online preordering, but Marketing Director Marty Shutter said several guests still prefer curbside.

“The main benefit is that you are offering your beer to more of the general public,” he said. “When much of the public is still wary about going indoors and losing those sales isn’t an option, you have to meet them where they are…literally.”

​Dyer added that to-go sales are at times difficult to manage while also operating an open taproom​ for Topa Topa, so it ​does ​require a little extra staff at busier times.

​”​The most important thing you can do other than to set up a system and to communicate its existence is to make it as ​easy and ​safe as possible for the consumer​,” Shutter added​. ​”​When you can become a solution rather than a luxury, or even a hassle, you will encourage repeat purchases from people who like your system as much as your beer.​”