Is whisky profitable to sell on Amazon United Kingdom?

The niche generates £12.3M/yr across 54 tracked products. 2 of 2 products launched in the last 360 days are still selling. 90-day search growth is -2.7%. Flapen's verdict: Worth a look (70/100).

How competitive is the whisky niche?

37 brands and 80 sellers compete. The top 5 products take 30% of clicks and top 5 brands hold 40% of demand.

What do buyers complain about in whisky?

Top complaints mined from reviews: Taste-Overall, Value For Money, Quality-Overall. The return rate is 0.3%.

When does demand for whisky peak?

Demand peaks in Oct–Nov–Dec; the busiest month runs 3.3× the quietest.

What does it cost to enter the whisky niche?

Listings span £12.87–£53.92; the average listing price is £22.06 (sweet spot $15–$100). The average incumbent carries 5,266 reviews — the moat a new listing must climb.

whisky

Worth a look

Shows a $12.3M/yr market, but a failed launch gate (market size, growth, or returns) keeps it on the watch list.

Market size

Incredible£12.3M

£12.3M/yr · 8.9M searches

Returns

Incredible0.3%

return rate — above 5% kills the launch gate

Brand share

Great40%

top-5 brand share — no brand owns this niche

Avg price

Great£22.06

avg listing price — sweet spot $15–$100

Price range

Great£12.87–£53.92

cheapest to priciest tracked listing — scored on the share inside $15–$100

Competition

Great30%

top-5 click share — an open shelf

Conversion

Good6.3%

search→purchase rate — share of searches ending in a sale

Growth

Bad-2.7%

90-day search growth — must beat 0% to launch

Review moat

Bad5,265.83

avg incumbent reviews — the moat a new listing must climb

Quality gap

Bad4.7★

avg incumbent rating — lower means beatable quality

Signals No Dominant Brand

According to Flapen's Amazon United Kingdom niche tracking, whisky is a £12.3M/yr Amazon United Kingdom market (8.9M searches/yr). The top 5 brands hold 40% of demand. Demand peaks in Oct–Nov–Dec. Verdict: Worth a look — 70/100.

Data updated Jul 23, 2026 · scored weekly · How we score niches

whisky market data

Units sold / yr: 400K–500K; avg 5,000–6,000/product
Revenue / yr: £8.8M–£11.0M; units × avg price
Conversion rate: 6.3%
Avg BSR: #46
Page quality: 0%
Prime: 100%
Sponsored: 94%
Out of stock: 0.0%
Avg brand age: 74 months
Avg seller age: 174 days

Competition & brand share

Clicks spread well past the top 5 (30% combined) — an open shelf where new products get seen.

Brands

37 falling

Sellers

Top-5 brand share

40%

Top 20: 87%

Top-5 click share

30%

Top 20: 73%

Open market

54%

Jura10%
The Famous Grouse10%
Bankhall8%
Whyte & Mackay7%
Talisker6%
Laphroaig5%

Demand & seasonality

Weekly Amazon search volume, last 104 weeks — -2.7% search growth over the last 90 days.

Peak months: Oct, Nov, Dec · busiest ÷ quietest = 3.3×

Open Trend

Top whisky search terms

whisky3.1M/yr +0.3%3.5% conv.
whisky deal of the day1.5M/yr -3.8%4.1% conv.
whiskey1.2M/yr +11.4%3.5% conv.
single malt whisky543K/yr -6.5%3.1% conv.
whiskey deals of the day500K/yr -1.6%4.5% conv.
malt whisky272K/yr -8.8%3.6% conv.
single malt whisky offers313K/yr -7.4%3.2% conv.
malt whisky 70cl offers deal of the day218K/yr -0.6%4.4% conv.
scotch whisky184K/yr -11.5%3.0% conv.
jura190K/yr -24.8%1.9% conv.

All search terms

Top whisky products on Amazon

Each bubble is one product — market share against review moat; bubble size tracks estimated sales, color grades how beatable the incumbent looks.

Beatable (≤4.3★) Contested Strong incumbent (>4.7★)

All 24 tracked products in this niche — three views at once, no toggling.

Top sellers

by 90-day click share

Jura Bourbon Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70cl | Fruity and Balanced 40% vol | More than a Whisky made by a Scottish Island Community | A Fresh Fruity Single Malt (Packaging may vary)

Jura£17.964.7★1,863 rev

Whyte & Mackay Blended Scotch Whisky 1L | Richer Smoother & More Mature | Award-Winning Triple Matured Smooth 1 Litre Scottish Whisky | Whyte and Mackay 40% vol

Whyte & Mackay£16.154.7★3,036 rev

Bankhall Single Malt Whisky 1L | 40% | Aged in Bourbon oak and new oak casks | Sweet vanilla with smooth oaky spice

Bankhall£15.734.4★278 rev

by Amazon Blended Scotch Whisky Special Reserve 1L

by Amazon£15.394.3★645 rev

The Famous Grouse£16.824.7★7,666 rev

Newest

by launch date

Bankhall Single Malt Whisky 1L | 40% | Aged in Bourbon oak and new oak casks | Sweet vanilla with smooth oaky spice

Bankhall£15.73278 rev

11mo ago

by Amazon Blended Scotch Whisky Special Reserve 1L

by Amazon£15.39645 rev

1y ago

Bankhall Single Malt Whisky 70cl | 40% | Aged in Bourbon oak and new oak casks | Sweet vanilla with smooth oaky spice

Bankhall£13.91719 rev

2y ago

Jura Bourbon Cask Single Malt Scotch Whisky 70cl | Fruity and Balanced 40% vol | More than a Whisky made by a Scottish Island Community | A Fresh Fruity Single Malt (Packaging may vary)

Jura£17.961,863 rev

3y ago

AUCHENTOSHAN£18.482,600 rev

6y ago

What buyers say about whisky

What buyers praise and complain about, mined from review topics.

What buyers love

Alcohol Flavor33%

“Easy to drink”

Value For Money22%

“Good Value”

Taste-Overall15%

“Excellent taste”

Quality-Overall8%

“Great product and availability”

Gifting Purpose7%

“great for gifting”

Flavor5%

“I found the flavour to be superb”

Advertised Vs Actual Product1%

“Works exactly as expected”

Sweetness1%

“Sweet and fairly refined”

Blend/Ratio1%

“I know it's a blend”

Smell1%

“The aroma, the smoothness, and it is the best value for money anywhere”

What buyers complain about

Taste-Overall25%

“Bizarre taste sensations”

Value For Money10%

“which was more expensive”

Quality-Overall8%

“Poor quality”

Flavor8%

“Really weak flavour”

Alcohol Flavor7%

“It's alcohol”

Smell5%

“was extremely disappointed to find it had almost no aroma at all strong a smell of smoke”

Durability3%

“Bought as a gift, attractive bottle, and from all accounts very tasty i,am told it only lasted one night between two”

Advertised Vs Actual Product2%

“The description sounds great but it isnt”

Alcohol Content2%

“There was a smell of alcohol”

Blend/Ratio2%

“its like a poorly blended type”

Top return reasons

Functionality-Overall21%

Defective Material/Parts16%

Quality-Overall12%

Value For Money12%

Advertised Vs Actual Product10%

Smell7%

Size-Overall5%

Gifting Purpose3%

Refills-Overall3%

Safety Standards3%

Common questions

Is whisky profitable to sell on Amazon United Kingdom?: The niche generates £12.3M/yr across 54 tracked products. 2 of 2 products launched in the last 360 days are still selling. 90-day search growth is -2.7%. Flapen's verdict: Worth a look (70/100).
How competitive is the whisky niche?: 37 brands and 80 sellers compete. The top 5 products take 30% of clicks and top 5 brands hold 40% of demand.
What do buyers complain about in whisky?: Top complaints mined from reviews: Taste-Overall, Value For Money, Quality-Overall. The return rate is 0.3%.
When does demand for whisky peak?: Demand peaks in Oct–Nov–Dec; the busiest month runs 3.3× the quietest.
What does it cost to enter the whisky niche?: Listings span £12.87–£53.92; the average listing price is £22.06 (sweet spot $15–$100). The average incumbent carries 5,266 reviews — the moat a new listing must climb.