The success of AB InBev’s ecommerce strategy
Anheuser-Busch InBev, known as AB InBev, is the world’s largest brewer. With an incredibly rich history spanning over centuries and with strong roots in markets all over the world, including Belgium, Brazil and the US, the multinational drinks company’s purpose is to “bring people together for a better world”.
Recently, achieving that mission has involved a blend of great products, dedicated teams and state-of-the-art ecommerce technologies for direct-to-consumer (DTC), B2B and marketplace initiatives, a journey in which VTEX has had a significant part to play. Let’s discover more about this one-of-a-kind collaboration.
Collaboration, the foundation for a great ecommerce strategy
AB InBev recognized the switch to the online world, sparked off by the COVID-19 pandemic, early on. Staying true to its customer-centric and innovative DNA, it set off to come to the aid of all of its customers: bars, restaurants, convenience stores and end-consumers.
“Building a direct-to-consumer ecosystem involves optimizing every part of the experience and this ranges from the end-consumers’ experience to the customer delivering that to them.”
France Roy, Global VP of DTC Technology at AB InBev
The company expanded within existing areas, diversified and increased its sales channels and its inventory. But for this robust digital transformation, a strong technological backbone was of paramount importance.
VTEX was more than up to the task, as it had powered some of the CPG giant’s ecommerce strategies in Latin America since 2016 and signed a global deal in 2020 to scale that commitment. The overall result? Great growth in the direct-to-consumer space over the past couple of years that is only expected to grow further.
For AB InBev, having a digital commerce strategy has been key to this growth. VTEX Commerce Platform, with servers hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS), came in handy with a headless commerce solution that offers control over the customer experience, as well as room for customization and a mobile-responsive user experience, in addition to fast time-to-market. Technology like this gives AB InBev confidence that it can easily match customer expectations.
“Having our platform on VTEX has allowed us to quickly meet the needs of consumers and expand internationally. Launching a marketplace in a matter of weeks was critical for us as there is a lot of competition in this space.”
France Roy, Global VP of DTC Technology at AB InBev
