Jägermeister on ecommerce: If you’re not failing you’re not trying hard enough
Jägermeister is looking to innovative new ways to make its brand more accessible online, including a tie-up with age verification app Yoti that means customers will be able to pay with a debit card for the first time.
Jägermeister believes the key to success in its ecommerce business is fostering a culture that encourages failure.
The brand launched its online shop in 2017 and it is becoming an increasingly important part of the business. Sales have doubled year on year and the brand has used it as a test bed for product innovation and to reach different consumers.
Tim Hawley, innovation controller at Jägermeister, tells Marketing Week: “Probably the most important factor is that at Jägermeister we have permission to fail. If you’re not failing you’re probably not trying hard enough or doing anything very innovative. That’s our culture and we apply that across everything we do, not just product innovation.”
Despite the site’s rapid growth, it does not sell standard bottles of Jägermeister, with the brand keen to not directly compete with retailers. Instead, it offers a combination of limited edition collections and offers such as a ‘Yard of Jägermeister’, which is 10 mini bottles of the digestif for £9.99 in order to incentivise consumers to buy online.
Another way of doing that is by offering better payment solutions. The drinks brand has just introduced third-party age verification on its ecommerce website, jaegershop.co.uk, to ensure it isn’t selling alcohol to under-18s. Prior to the collaboration, Jägermeister was unable to accept debit card payments on its online shop as there was no way to verify age.
Age is now verified using the Yoti app in a three-step process. It involves customers using the app to scan their passport or driving licence. The app then creates a digital identity by cross-referencing the ID with a selfie in a system Yoti claims is “more secure and robust” than age affirmation pages or tick boxes.
READ MORE: How Jägermeister is focusing on craftsmanship to reveal ‘a new side’ to the brand
Jägermeister believes the move will be beneficial to the brand both by showing it is committed to responsible marketing and user privacy, and by offering a new way for customers to pay.
“By partnering with Yoti we can offer a frictionless and secure way for our customers to prove their age online,” says Hawley.
Despite needing to download the Yoti app in order to check-out when paying via debit card, Hawley says there have been no issues with friction and the brand is already seeing 69% of its customers using debit card payments to make online purchases.
Integrating the Yoti app is part of a much wider software upgrade project for Jaegershop that took a number of months. Hawley says it’s an “exciting time for Jägermeister with lots more innovations planned for the website and beyond”, although he wouldn’t be drawn on what those might be.
Interested to get people’s opinions – do you think that by adding this extra loop hole for consumers to jump through (downloading the app), it will deter more people from purchasing through Jägermeister’s website?
No I don’t think so. A small percentage will be put off, but if it is explained properly then I think the majority will accept and appreciate that Jägermeister are trying to offer increased functionality to their customers (debit cards) whilst also ensuring that they do not encourage under age drinking.
I find it odd that Jägermeister doesn’t want to compete with retailers by selling standard bottles direct, unless they’ve made agreements with retailers on that basis.
From a consumer point of view I’d find that frustrating that the full range isn’t available through a single basket.
From a brand point of view aren’t they just giving away data, relationships and margin to retailers with this strategy?