Single malt scotch whiskey brand The Glenlivet is aiming to reach mobile users on spirit curator Caskers’ mobile-optimized site with designated shopping and exploration sections.

Caskers has dedicated a portion of its site to The Glenlivet ahead of Father’s Day promotion to remind consumers of an ideal gift for their fathers and ramp up sales of the brand as the alcohol industry continues moving more towards mobile. Caskers believe The Glenlivet’s sections, which enable consumers to shop the alcohol, explore its ranges and learn more about its history, will boost sales in a traditionally offline industry that has previously faced strict government regulation.

“The entire Caskers site is mobile-optimized for browsing and shopping,” said Gregory Kimball, vice president of marketing and public relations at Caskers, New York. “Consumers spend an increasing amount of time on their phone across a variety of activities, including shopping.

“We see over 50 percent of our traffic coming from tablet and mobile so it was important for us to be able to reach consumers where they spend their time while providing a great shopping experience.”

Powerful partnership
The partnership between Caskers and The Glenlivet marks the premiere time a major liquor manufacturer has joined forces with an ecommerce curator, according to Caskers. Consumers searching for the perfect last-minute Father’s Day present may visit the site on their mobile and tablet devices and toggle back and forth between the three designated sections to help select the best bottle.

The mini-store on Caskers’ site showcases all of The Glenlivet’s alcohol offerings, sorted by category. The site also displays when sale prices will end, so that customers know the ideal window of time to make a purchase that benefits their wallets.

Users may also explore the range to receive more information on tasting notes, and point scores from the Beverage Testing Institute.

Lastly, Caskers offers site visitors a historical timeline detailing The Glenlivet’s legacy, which began when King George IV requested the scotch by name during a visit to Scotland in 1822.

“Mobile is not a separate strategy for Caskers, it is a core element in the overarching strategy; if something cannot be included in mobile, the question becomes, ‘should it exist at all?’” Mr. Kimball said.

“This becomes especially important for targeting younger demographics of spirit enthusiasts who spend more time on their phone than their parents and are constantly sharing their experiences via their mobile devices.”

Alcohol on mobile
Caskers is aiming for a breakthrough in alcohol purchase and delivery options on mobile due to the legal three-tier system in the United States that has prevented liquor manufacturers from selling their products directly to consumers. Therefore, manufacturers’ online advertising efforts have generally brought consumer attention back to their own Web sites, which do not have point-of-sale functions.

By offering consumers to the ability to shop The Glenlivet’s products on the Caskers site, the alcohol distributor is hoping to clasp the path to purchase by enabling users to make purchases online or on mobile, and have the products delivered to their doors.

Additionally, this will help both The Glenlivet and Caskers with data collection on consumers’ purchasing preferences and buying behaviors.

An increasing amount of consumers is clamoring for more purchasing opportunities for alcohol on mobile, with delivery as a top desired feature.

This past January, alcohol delivery mobile application Saucey stirred up sales by introducing new weekly packages featuring Absolut Vodka cocktails and also launched an on-demand bartender service, proving that consumers are increasingly turning to home delivery apps for their food and beverage purchases (see story).

Customers who want to share their Caskers or The Glenlivet purchases on social media will also have the ability to do so.

“Consumers can share in a variety of ways on our site, including from product pages, from sweepstakes that we having going on, including the current Pappy Van Winkle sweeps and post purchase,” Mr. Kimball said.

“We provide suggested sharing text, usually including a hashtag, but allow consumers to customize the text as they please, at the end of the day, a customer who shares your content should have the ability to share it in a way that is true to them.”

Final Take
Alex Samuely is an editorial assistant on Mobile Commerce Daily, New York