The strong trend towards digitalization of wine estates

Digital is developing in all sectors and for good reason, today it is a major source of business development! However, in the wine industry, it takes longer, especially because of the rural nature of this sector. Indeed, the estates do not always have people with digital skills to develop it.

However, it should be noted that 49% of Internet users consult the Internet before going to the store. This is THE key figure that highlights the importance of your presence on the Internet! This constant need to have all the information about a product at hand, at any time of the day, is for the Internet user an essential asset that will direct his purchase towards the most visible product. Today, the ability to identify customers and their activity on the Internet allows resellers to offer a better service to consumers. Thus, the main challenge of the digital transition lies in the ability to recreate a consumer environment conducive to confidence and pleasure, particularly for wine.

The challenge? The transparency coveted by all potential buyers must be the cornerstone of digital communication. It is a question of intelligently combining the authenticity of a physical encounter with the plurality of information contained in the Internet, without losing the Internet user.

Online wine sales as a growth driver

The online sale of wine continues to grow at a rate of more than 30% per year over the years. In 2015, 29% of independent winegrowers offered online sales on their websites, a trend that is confirmed by representing around 10% of total wine sales in France in terms of value.

This is largely due to the emergence of specialised marketplaces, which offer a very interesting choice aid for the consumer by applying very specific sales methods to online sales. According to a study by Fevad/Médiamétrie, 54% of Internet users have already made a purchase on market places. This demonstrates the ever-increasing attractiveness of marketplaces to consumers who can compare the different products available. This is not new, but they are going to make a lot of noise by taking an ever-increasing share in all wine distribution channels.

Marketplaces as a complement to physics sales

In 2016, 75% of online sales players will also have their own physical points of sale. This demonstrates a real willingness on the part of the customer to first inquire before making a purchase and above all to offer information in a more flexible way by qualifying these needs on the Internet. In a second step, the customer will have the possibility to move around by finding what he saw during his research on the Internet or to finalize his purchase path directly on the Internet. The challenge for the vineyard is to be visible so that the customer recognizes these wines and is tempted by them rather than those of competitors. This translates directly into the Oxatis - KPMG Study, which highlights customer satisfaction thanks to physical shop owners who were able to deliver better information to their customers for 51% of them.

The search for a caring community

In 2015, according to a Fevad/Médiamétrie study, 53% of consumers sought consumer opinions and comments to make the best possible choice from the abundant offer on offer. It was, moreover, Michel Rolland, the French oenologist, who said in March 2015: "I believe that from now on, ratings have no future. That was a time. It has worked for the last thirty-five years, but today they will disappear, because any taster can have his opinion of what is the best; it will be a good opinion, but it will be his opinion, but not yours or mine. We are going to taste a wine, and to me it will not please me, but to you it will. So, who tastes bad? You or me? We don't know." All this shows that consumers are much more attached to the community that resembles them rather than to experts with whom they don't identify. Thus, 7 out of 10 Internet users consider the opinions of other customers before making a choice.

Tablets and smartphones as consumer tools

Only 12% of the websites of independent winegrowers are optimised for mobile devices. This figure alone shows how far behind the wine industry is, as consumers are using more and more devices to make purchases. According to Les Echos, 50% of e-commerce purchases already come from several devices and this figure tends to increase over the years. Resellers must therefore adapt the online shopping experience to meet the increasing demand for the use of different media (tablets, smartphones...). In 2018, this will amount to nearly 17 billion euros in 2018, compared to 7 billion euros three years earlier. The ergonomics on these media allow the consumer to easily search, at any time and in any place, for information on the various offers, and to benefit from the best deals in just a few clicks. According to a study by Fevad/CSA, according to a Fevad/CSA study, the mobile phone is a way for 60% of customers to find their way around physical resale locations, comparing prices, consulting customer opinions but also technical characteristics. The trend of increasing purchases, via these tools, is a real challenge for wineries. It is for them an essential turning point to position themselves well and benefit from a first-rate exposure.

The digitalisation of the wine industry has been underway for some years now and it is essential for wineries to offer a digital purchasing experience that is as good as buying directly from the winery. This concerns the purchase of wine but also the purchase of oenotourism services which are experiencing a strong development. Given the consumer habits for all types of purchases, those related to wine must also be up to scratch. This is a real challenge for the estates! Some start-ups, such as Les Grappes, have thus launched themselves to support winegrowers in their digital transition.

Sources: SoWine 2015 study, E-Performance Barometer BEM KEDGE Business School