There are a lot of expectations around e-commerce this fall, and this post is intended to help you and your teams take stock of where you are with 75 selling days left this year. It’s time to roll up your sleeves and prepare for Holiday 2022.
First, it is important to ground your strategy in reality. Most of your sales will come from your current customer base. They should be the focus of your campaigns across channels. By really doubling down on your website shopping experience, curated wine collections, and creating a thoughtful series of emails, you’ll reach consumers with an authentic and compelling message.
Second, if you haven’t been growing year over year, reset your expectations for Holiday 2022 and realize that some of the revenue that was in the e-commerce channel in 2021 is going to be in the tasting room channel this year. National trends are not in your favor this year.
Third, shipping orders around the country is expensive, so make sure the offers you put together are worth it and help drive actual profits, rather than selling wine through the e-commerce channel because the revenue is budgeted there. For most wineries, this means pricing discipline by limiting extra discounts beyond the club membership, and having a threshold of at least six bottles for ground shipping to be included.
Fourth, gifts with boxes are nice for consumers, but don’t drive as much revenue or profits as thoughtful, curated collections. Focus on curating six-bottle collections of wine. Don’t get caught up thinking six bottles of luxury red wines is too high a sticker price. Consumers who have that wine preference will convert. If you have bottle prices over $100, then a collection can be featured with three bottles.
Fifth, consumers want to connect with brands beyond the transaction. Add additional value in your emails and website by including more content than just a wine offer. This could be a recipe, a story about why a varietal is important to the winemaker, or a focus on a charitable cause that the winery is supporting this year.
Over the next 75 days, you and your team have a lot on your plate. Hopefully, these tips help ground your work and provide a framework to support you this holiday.
Digital Marketing Wine 