Woolworths dominates alcohol retail market as Dan Murphy’s continues to grow: Research

Grocery giant Woolworths now holds almost 50% of the alcohol retail market, according to a report from market research company Roy Morgan.

The report, released earlier this month, shows Woolworths’  alcohol retail ventures now hold claim to 49.2% of the market as of December 2016. This includes “big box” alcohol retailer Dan Murphy’s, and Woolworths’ in-store offerings BWS and Woolworths Liquor.

Read more: Why Woolworths liquor business BWS is employing thousands of new chief executives

Roy Morgan estimates Australians spent $14.5 billion on alcohol purchased from a retailer last year, and Woolworths locked down $7.1 billion of that.

BWS has maintained a steady market share over the past three years, hovering just shy of 17%, according to Roy Morgan. However, Dan Murphy’s has seen a significant uptick in market share, jumping to 30% market share in 2016 from 25.4% in 2015. Woolworths Liquor rounds out the supermarket’s market share with 2.4%.

The next closest competitor to Woolworths is Coles, which Roy Morgan estimates has an overall market share of 15.5% in 2016, or $2.2 billion, with Liquorland performing the best with a  9.1% market share.

Crowd favourite Aldi has seen steady growth over the past years, but holds a market share of just 3.5%. At the start of 2016, Aldi announced it would shut its online liquor stores to focus on its bricks-and-mortar store expansions.

Roy Morgan estimates the supermarket giants now held 72.3% of the total alcohol retail market share at the end of 2016, an increase from 69.% in 2015. Independent retailers such as Cellarbrations claim a 10.4% slice of the pie, while wine clubs or subscription services hold 4.6%.

For smaller alcohol retailers, industry communications director at Roy Morgan Research Norman Morris said in a statement it’s essential to understand what draws consumers to stores such as Dan Murphy’s.

“Roy Morgan data shows that people who usually shop at Dan Murphy’s place above-average importance on a good range and a well laid-out store where it’s easy to find what they’re looking for,” he says.

“At the same time, they enjoy having a good look around liquor stores, suggesting a willingness to browse rather than just zone in on what they came for and then get out fast.”

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