Quarterly Commerce Marketing Benchmarks for Alcohol Brands
Overview and KPIs
Alcohol brands face evolving shopper behavior and increasing demands for media efficiency. Understanding when, where, and how shoppers express purchase intent across touchpoints has become essential for effective marketing activations.
MikMak’s quarterly Alcohol commerce marketing benchmarks provide a data-backed view of brand media trends, retailers displayed, and shopper intent across key global markets, helping brands contextualize performance and refine commerce-enabled activations across owned and paid channels.
This Q1 benchmark analysis is based on MikMak Shopping Index* data from January 1 to March 31, 2026
The following proprietary MikMak Commerce KPIs were used:
- Purchase Intent Clicks
Measures high-intent shopper traffic by counting the number of times a shopper clicks through to at least one retailer during a single session within MikMak Commerce-enabled brand content. - Purchase Intent Rate
Measures the percentage of shoppers who click through to at least one retailer within MikMak Commerce-enabled brand content, signaling a strong conversion likelihood.
Q1 Alcohol Commerce Marketing Highlights
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Occasion-driven demand shapes the quarter: Seasonal moments influence shopper intent in Q1. February led in the US (35.7%) with Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day, while March peaked in Canada (39.9%) with St. Patrick’s Day.
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Search investment captures post-holiday intent: As holiday demand declined, brands shifted budgets toward paid and organic search, driving increased influence for Google, notably in the US and UK.
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Owned channels reach record conversion levels: Brand websites delivered peak Purchase Intent Rates in Canada (48.8%) and the UK (53.6%), with roughly 1 in 2 engaged shoppers clicking through to a retailer.
United States
February led Q1 2026 with 35.7% of the quarter’s Purchase Intent Clicks, overtaking March as the peak engagement period. Seasonal moments like the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day continue to drive Q1 demand.
Conversion strengthens across channels
Media Purchase Intent Rates rose to 7.4% (from 6.5%), showing improved ability to capture high-intent shoppers during key moments.
Brand websites maintained strong conversion potential at 25.1%, reinforcing their role as high-performing endpoints for qualified traffic.
Social leads, search gains share
Paid social drove 62.9% of shopper traffic, with Meta leading at 64.7%.
At the same time, search (organic and paid) grew to 26% of total traffic from MikMak Commerce-enabled brand content. This shift suggests that brands have likely reallocated more budgets toward search post Q4.
Convenience and specialty retail drive choice
Instacart led with a 14.7% share of shopper traffic, followed by Total Wine & More (13.4%). DoorDash grew to 10.3%, reinforcing the importance of on-demand fulfillment. ReserveBar entered the top five, signaling continued demand for premium and gifting occasions.
Canada
Shopper activity peaked late in the quarter, with March driving 39.9% of quarterly clicks, likely fueled by St. Patrick’s Day. January also saw stronger early-quarter engagement (33.1%), up significantly year over year.
Owned channels reach record conversion
Purchase Intent Rate on brand websites surged to 48.8% (from 39.2%). This suggests that Canadian Alcohol shoppers are increasingly decisive. Among those who engaged with shoppable options, nearly 1 in 2 clicked through to a retailer to buy.
Media remained stable at 3.8%, reinforcing the effectiveness of a full-funnel commerce strategy.
Social dominates, new discovery channels scale
Paid social drove 56.9% of shopper traffic. Google (36.0%) and Meta (35.6%) remained core sources.
Emerging channels accelerated: Snapchat and Pinterest together drove over 21% of traffic (vs. 10.8% in Q4), while Spotify entered the top five, highlighting growth in lifestyle-driven discovery.
Regulated retail meets on-demand growth
LCBO led with a 24.1% share of retailer clicks (up from 22.1% in Q4), with SAQ and BC Liquor Stores anchoring regional demand.
At the same time, HOMERUN Delivery (5.8%) and Uber Eats (4.0%) gained traction, showing rising demand for specialized and on-demand fulfillment.
United Kingdom
In the UK analysis, we focus on Spirits and Liquor brands.
January dominated Q1 shopper traffic with 49% of Purchase Intent Clicks. Activity declined through February (37.9%) and March (13.1%).
Record-breaking conversion on owned channels
Brand websites reached 53.6% Purchase Intent Rate (up from 51.0%), with over half of those engaging with shoppable options clicking through to a retailer.
Media normalized to 9.6% (from 22.4%), reflecting reduced post-holiday spend.
Social leads, search captures intent
For UK Spirits brands, paid social drove the majority of shopper traffic to retailers, with Meta leading.
Google’s share rose to 37.7% (from 26.7% in Q4), likely reflecting a shift in brand investment toward intent-based search.
Amazon leads as Grocery regains share
Amazon remains the top choice for UK Spirits shoppers within MikMak commerce-enabled content, capturing 29.1% of Purchase Intent Clicks, though down from Q4 (33.1%). Tesco grew to 19.2%, with steady performance from Asda, Morrisons, and Sainsbury’s.
This shift signals a return to routine grocery purchasing for Alcohol following the gifting-heavy holiday period.
Key Takeaways
- Optimize owned channels as conversion engines: Brand websites act as high-velocity closers, with Purchase Intent Rates exceeding 50% in some markets. Prioritize seamless UX and clear retailer paths to capture this demand.
- Balance convenience and specialty retail: Shoppers split between on-demand delivery (Instacart, DoorDash) and planned grocery or specialty purchases. Ensure media connects to a diversified retailer mix to support both behaviors.
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Activate around key occasions: Mid-quarter moments like the Super Bowl, Valentine’s Day, and St. Patrick’s Day drive significant spikes in intent. Use these events to sustain engagement and bridge post-holiday slowdowns.
Curious to see how MikMak helps brands connect marketing with commerce and unlock first-party shopper data? Schedule a demo today.
*The MikMak Shopping Index was developed to provide a standardized set of metrics, methodology, and benchmarks to help drive brands’ business results and strategy. It is a collection of key eCommerce KPIs from hundreds of brands, over 250 channels, and more than 8,000 retailer integrations worldwide to understand consumer online shopping behavior.
