Online wine shop with local delivery

Households, gift buyers, and small businesses ordering for staff or clients.

You sell bottles and mixed cases at a mark-up on wholesale cost. Subscriptions, gift boxes and corporate orders can bring in repeat income.

• Wine knowledge or a clear niche you can explain well
• Setting up and running an online shop
• Organised stock, packing and order handling

• Alcohol licensing applies to online sales too, so check with your council, including the different rules in Scotland
• Working from home may need permission from your landlord or mortgage lender, and storing stock at home may not suit a licence, so check first
• Age verification at sale and at delivery, plus courier rules for alcohol
• Alcohol duty, VAT and HMRC registration if you sell to other businesses
• Breakages in transit and the cost of delivery eating into margins
• Public liability and stock insurance

Estimates suggest startup costs typically around £4,000 to £20,000, depending on your website, stock, storage and packing supplies, and the licensing and insurance you need. Plan carefully for how much stock you buy first.

Alcohol licensing applies to online sales too, so check with your council, including the different rules in Scotland. Also check age verification at sale and delivery, courier rules for alcohol, alcohol duty, VAT and HMRC registration if you sell to businesses.

Monthly revenue is typically estimated at around £1,500 to £8,000, depending on your range, customers and order sizes. Delivery costs and breakages can eat into margins, so check your figures carefully.