Online ordering service designed to help licensees boost cider sales
HEINEKEN, owner of cider brands Bulmers and Strongbow, has launched a new online portal to help licensees streamline ordering and boost sales of cider and beer in their pubs.
Described as a state-of-the-art e-commerce website for on-trade customers, Heineken Online offers brand, category and retail advice that can be tailored for individual outlets.
The new site (www.online.heineken.co.uk) is said to have been developed with industry and online purchasing experts and includes features such as the ability to build favourites and add products to basket as well as recommendations and offers of substitutes.
Featuring a range of content, including advice to help operators improve their cider and beer offer and maximise sales, Heineken Online is split into five sections.
The ordering and payments part of the site allows licensees to manage and pay for orders 24 hours a day, seven days a week; while the promotions section is updated regularly, giving licensees access to a range of exclusive online promotions offering free stock and POS.
The portal also includes an advice section, which includes hints and tips for licensees and a ‘sell more’ area featuring merchandising advice designed to help operators boost sales and footfall, including marketing advice, interactive fridge planners and draught dispense advice.
There’s also a news section featuring Heineken’s product launches and market updates, and a help function which enables licensees to log any issues and request a call back from the Heineken team.
The new portal will replace existing online ordering sites Barbox and Heineken Online but the beer and cider firm said it will not impact on the service provided by its First Point on-trade call centre.
Lawson Mountstevens, managing director on-trade at Heineken, said the new website aims to provide licensees with a “flexible and functional way of doing business”.
“Heineken Online offers a 24-hour-a-day user-friendly ordering service that will help our independent free-trade customers and Star Pubs & Bars lessees run their business more efficiently while providing unrivalled levels of support and advice to help drive footfall and sales,” he said.
“Heineken Online is much more than an internet ordering service.
“The site has been built on the foundation of extensive customer research and feedback. The new website will remove some of the previous complexities of doing business with Heineken and help unlock the huge sales opportunities that the cider and beer categories present.
“By offering an innovative way of engaging with licensees at times when they are most receptive, we can provide our customers with a one-stop-shop for all their cider and beer needs, offering them round-the-clock flexibility.”
