Can Costco Fight the Three-Tiered System?

Washington state

Posted by Sarah Pomerantz on November 23rd, 2004 | Permalink

Wineries Expand Direct-to-Consumer Sales

As the battle over direct-to-consumer shipping rages in the courts, the Wine Institute has moved forward with their direct sales strategies. Individual wineries are developing their Internet marketing as they attempt to grow their brand online. Wine retailers are now put in a peculiar position, where they may feel competition from their own suppliers. However, as different as a retail store is from a winery, your e-commerce site can reflect the feel of your brick-and-mortar store.

Do you offer food pairing suggestions for wines in your shop? How about wine tasting workshops? As a retailer, you are in a unique position to match your customers' diverse tastes to the selection available in your store. Play up your strengths online, and make it easy and fun for online shoppers to choose wines that suit their preferences. Maybe a little quiz (Are you looking for a wine to pair with food? Do you prefer strong, tannic wines or fruitier flavors?) can make the connections between your inventory and the shopper's needs.

As wineries begin to sell their wine online, you don't need to feel the pressure of additional competition. A winery can only offer a fraction of the selection you carry in your store. Just focus on what being a wine retailer means to the consumer, and plan the online shopping experience with that distinction in mind.

Wine Institute "Direct-to-Consumer" Workshops Announced: Focus will be on tasting room, wine club, and e-commerce sales, 11/4/04

Posted by Sarah Pomerantz on November 17th, 2004 | Permalink

Virtual Tastings?

A new shop in San Francisco is offering automated samplings of high-end wines to entice customers. Traditional wine tastings allow the customer to experiment with a new

Posted by Sarah Pomerantz on November 11th, 2004 | Permalink

No Day of Rest for Wine E-tailers

In states across the country, legislators are challenging the so-called "blue laws" which restrict Sunday sales of wine, beer, and liquor. From Lee County, Georgia, where the legalization of Sunday sales will hopefully attract both on- and off-premise beverage businesses, to Pennsylvania's recent attempt to expand the number of state liquor stores that can be open on Sundays, fewer wine merchants are taking their day of rest.

However, changing laws which have been on the books for generations isn't simple. Controversy is expected in Pennsylvania, as on-premise business owners try to maintain their monopoloy on Sunday consumers, and as law enforcers worry about increased availability of kegs on college campuses. Fine wine retailers are in a unique position to benefit from allowing Sunday sales, because they may not be competing with bars and taverns, or seen by their communities as sources of 'binge drinking'. However, these issues will keep Sunday sales a hot topic of debate for legislators in many areas.

Many wine retailers have begun to turn to e-commerce to bypass these problems. No matter what time your brick-and-mortar store must lock its doors to the public, your e-store can accept orders all night, all day, 7 days a week. In fact, Sunday sales at online stores can be a reliably consistent source of revenue, as consumers may be more likely to shop online for wine when they're unable to go down to their local store. Given the tenacity of the blue laws, selling wine online can be beneficial to all wine retailers, whether or not your area allows Sunday sales.

Feedback from retailers wanted! Has your business been involved in a Sunday sale debate? What are the controversial issues that do - and don't - apply to fine wine retailers? How have you seen online sales overcome localized restrictions?

Drop me a line at sarah@bottlenose-wine.com.

Posted by Sarah Pomerantz on November 10th, 2004 | Permalink