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Wine & Spirits Daily NewsletterDecember 6, 2007~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ONLINE WINE SALES MEET HOLIDAY SUCCESS. Ordering wine and wine related products online is becoming increasingly popular during the holidays, according to Winezap.com, an aggregator of online wine shops from across the U.S. Wine related traffic grew a whopping 35% this season from 2006, the company said in a press release, which more than doubled that of overall e-retail traffic.
Why the surge in sales? Winezap.com says it is most likely a result of the wine industry 'catching up' from years of heavy interstate-shipping and internet regulations, as well as the introduction of a drinking-age millennial generation.
"Purchasing wine online is a fairly new concept for Americans," says Michael Stajer of Winezap.com. "It wasn't really until 2005 that many of the restrictions on wine selling were lifted, allowing customers to finally purchase a bottle from somewhere other than the shop down the street."
While opening direct to consumer sales removal was crucial to online wine industry success, it is only one of many factors contributing to the 2007 holiday spike, says winezap.com.
According to the Wine Market Council, the Millennial Generation (those born after 1980) is the fastest growing segment of wine consumers and is expected to drive the beverage market for years to come. This generation is also used to purchasing things online, so you do the math.
Additional wine statistics from Winezap.com showed Black Friday's search traffic increase nearly 18%, while Cyber Monday boasted 33% bump in overall searches.
And for 2007's most popular wines by search? The Top 5 came in as follows:
1. Chateau Latour Bordeaux 2. Chateau Margaux Bordeaux 3. Chateau Haut Brion Bordeaux 4. Opus One Cabernet Blend 5. Chateau Lafite Rothschild Bordeaux
Clearly the online wine industry has created a strong buzz surrounding the holiday season, leaving many business owners in high spirits. But, with national wine e-retailers only in their 3rd holiday stint, this growth is only a sip of things to come.
