The Beverage Retail Ecommerce Framework.
A seven-layer methodology for independent beverage-alcohol retailers who want to compete online.
Most beverage-alcohol retailers who sell online are running the channel the same way they ran their first website a decade ago — one platform, one price list, one photographer, no coordinated view of how the layers fit together. The Framework is our attempt to put those layers in order.
It's drawn from a decade of working with independent retailers in Greater Boston and New England, from watching the CityHive / Bottlecapps / Bottlenose platform landscape develop, and from building PriceGun.io — which surfaces daily competitive pricing intelligence across the category.
- § 01
Platform
Which ecommerce platform fits your operation — CityHive, Bottlecapps, Bottlenose, Shopify, WineFetch, or something custom — and why that decision matters more than most retailers realize.
- § 02
Catalog
How your products are structured, categorized, and represented. Catalog decisions compound. Bad ones are expensive to undo.
- § 03
Pricing
Daily pricing strategy, competitive positioning, margin structure, and Wine-Searcher dynamics. This is where PriceGun.io comes in.
- § 04
Merchandising
What customers see when they land — on your site, on Wine-Searcher, on Google, on BevBay. Product imagery, descriptions, bundling, and featured placement.
- § 05
Fulfillment
Pickup, delivery, shipping where legal, and the operational realities of getting product from shelf to customer.
- § 06
Marketing
Paid search, organic search, email, loyalty, affiliate, and local marketing — sequenced so the channels compound rather than compete.
- § 07
Operations
How the ecommerce channel integrates with the store's actual operations — POS, inventory, staffing, and ownership attention.
The Framework is a consulting methodology, not a product. If you want to discuss an engagement built around it, the dedicated consulting site is at pricegun.io/consulting.