Presumably to curb the historic decline in consumption, over the past year the space dedicated to wines has increased and the assortment has grown deeper.
The decline in purchases of packaged wine in mass-market retail (GDO) was interrupted only last year with a slight volume growth (+0.6%) driven by a substantial recovery of the classic 0.75-litre bottle (+2.5%). Among these, red wines dominate – in particular Lambrusco (first by volume and second by value) and Chianti (first by value and second by volume); well positioned also are Barbera, Bonarda, Montepulciano, Nero d'Avola and Sangiovese, with purchase peaks obviously influenced by regional ties, which do not however seem to dent the preference for red wines.
By now supermarkets and hypermarkets have created almost separate areas that resemble true wine shops capable of meeting consumer needs. And not just them, given the forceful entry of Amazon and its extensive wine list; as well as the aggressive – both in terms of pricing and marketing – Lidl, which with advertising, distinctive tasting notes, French wines and scores awarded by top experts.
What these wine shops are missing, however, is one fundamental element: the wine merchant or sommelier – sources of advice and guidance who help even the most undecided shoppers and with whom a relationship of trust tends to develop, building loyalty. Today the less experienced consumer gets lost and experiences choice anxiety; despite greater attention to category management and space allocation (display logic and dedicated spaces).
As often happens in our country, one of the most attentive players is Esselunga, which has decided to display, alongside the price, some potentially useful information such as food pairings and storage instructions; unfortunately nothing beyond what is already stated on the label.
In the world of wine, personal relationships, poetry and romance are fundamental; Carrefour has decided to narrow the gap with wine shops in its Gourmet format, where, on certain days, expert sommeliers are present to organise tastings and guide customers toward the right choice – though, given the costs involved, these are fairly rare events.
Pam Panorama has sought a more modern solution to the problem by creating the "La Cantina" portal, with the aim of "educating" shoppers by providing more information about wines and indicating which points of sale carry them. Within the Magazine section, topics such as reading labels, food pairings, storage and the reuse of leftover wine are explored.
More experienced consumers still seem to snub the mass-market retail channel, yet they are precisely those who could potentially buy more both in terms of volume and value, and who could certainly help Italian large-scale distribution overcome one of the sector's biggest problems: the low average basket spend. Certainly of interest – and differentiating – would be retailers providing information on how wine is transported and stored in order to ensure greater transparency, paired – why not – with tips for newcomers on how to bring products home safely!
Looking at some shelves, one notices that some simply separate low-cost and table wines (without distinguishing between bag-in-box, carton and large formats) from wines with a denomination (IGT, DOC, DOCG) which, in the best cases, are divided by origin and price. Wood and raw materials in light colours are often used in the construction of shelving units to emphasise naturalness.
Under the banner of creative naming (and differentiation – see above, the Pam Panorama initiative), inside the hypermarket La Grande I in Varese, owned by Finiper, is the "La Cantina" initiative, which features a tasting area complete with chairs and stools.
In specialised stores like Eataly the concept becomes more advanced and sophisticated; such areas are already in place and food items – such as cheeses – are often offered for tasting alongside wines, with the aim of giving customers an experience and perhaps facilitating cross-selling; in relation to which there are many opportunities to seize, especially for gifts, by not only positioning accessories such as corkscrews, thermal sleeves, wine carriers and gift packaging near the "wine shop" area, but also by actively promoting these products.
Within this scenario, one must also consider the Private Label market which, in my view, is far from saturated in this sector, but would require dedicated studies given the unique nature of the industry.
What do you think?
Log in to leave a comment