Why Selling Wine Online Is So Hot Right Now
Photo courtesy of Outshinery. They can put your wine in this photo and make other outstanding bottle shots for your brand.
Covid-19 brought a swift end to winery tasting room sales and has forced every wine brand to become an e-commerce company over night. The industry has seen a slow digital shift in the past few years, but Covid-19 accelerated the increase of wine e-commerce and we think it is here to stay.
Talking with clients and friends in the wine industry, it is clear online wine sale have dramatically increased. Not every winery has seen the same positive results, but industry wide the data tells the same story. WinePulse, a leading DTC wine analytics platform, noted as of mid-April an 160% increase in e-commerce wine sales across their clients.
Off-premise sales of wine have skyrocketed 29% during Covid-19 according to Nielsen and the average price paid is up 2.3%. It makes complete sense that consumers are flocking to their local wine shops and grocery stores to buy wine, but how can wineries take advantage in the uptick?
Get Off The Sidelines and Go On Offense
Wineries need to go on the offense and start aggressively marketing their wines online. This doesn’t mean it should be done in poor taste, but brands cannot be afraid to ask for the sale. Facebook and Google both say they have seen an increase in effectiveness of direct response marketing. Better yet, most industries are sitting on the sidelines so ad costs have gone down.
Understandably, many wineries may think this is not the appropriate time to market their products and it may be perceived as tone-deaf during a difficult economic time for the country. Each brand must asses what fits their image and messaging, but the data is clear that consumers are searching for and want to buy wine online.
The Data Doesn’t Lie - Consumer Want To Buy Wine Online
Google provides real time statistics on trends and changes in search terms. Typically the peak time for online wine searches coincides with Thanksgiving and Christmas purchasing. This should be no surprise. Looking at the search volume as of this writing in early May, wine related search terms have hit Thanksgiving type levels.
Compare this year’s trends with the past four years and you can see how unusual a spring time jump is in online searches for wine:
More specifically, the term “buy wine online” is setting records on Google. The week of April 5-11 it peaked at a record level and even still now in mid-May it’s higher than it has been since before Covid-19 started including during last Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Demographics Matter - Segment Your Audience
Searchers are up across the country, but certain regions are seeing unprecedented changes. Pennsylvania has had many issues with their state run “Fine Wine & Good Spirts” stores including a total halt of online sales at one point and closing some stores. This drove imbibing Pennsylvanians to Google to source the wine themselves. The state saw the biggest increase in wine related search terms including a 4,850% increase for the term “wine and spirits online” and a 3,550% increase for the more specific “fine wine and good spirits online.” If I was running a winery today, I would be emailing and calling every customer in Pennsylvania and offering a free shipping deal. Furthermore, any wine brands looking to advertise online should run targeted campaigns to the state.
Choosing the Right SEO Keywords & Search Terms for Wine
Just like the heading to this paragraph, you should be stuffing the right keywords onto your website. I chose this paragraph heading so folks searching in Google for advice on keyword research for the wine industry will find this article.
Keywords matter and can increase your SEO and help you run better digital ads. Terms like “wine delivery” are up 500% while the term “order wine online” is up 450% according to Google.
Our agency’s rule is, “When in doubt, consult Google”. In that vain we wanted to make your job easier. Below are the overall top wine related search terms trending right now according to Google:
What Are You Going To Do Now?
The wine industry has been flipped upside down whether we like it or not. E-commerce is king and wineries can no longer afford to sit on the digital sidelines. By choosing to not advertise online, they are leaving money on the table. This is not to say that every brand will have out of the gate smashing success with their first digital ad campaign. However, it is clear the demand has shifted away from the tasting room and to online wine sales. It is too early to tell if and how online will replace the lost tasting room sales in total, but for now wineries must lean into the new normal. So the question is, what are you going to do about it?
Simon Solis-Cohen is the founder of Highway 29 Creative, a leading digital and creative agency serving the wine industry. He challenges clients to think about the future and constantly innovate. The agency chases data, not fads, and provides one-stop shopping for wineries looking to enter or jolt their direct to consumer sales. Their approach starts by designing and building a website focused on conversion (wine sales, club sign ups & tasting room reservations) and then dives into each digital channel with consistent and effective content and messaging. What to learn more or looking for advice? Shoot Simon a message at simon@hwy29creative.com.