There will be a huge online battle within 2 years within the wine industry. This battle will be fought over sales and the two sides will be traditional retail stores and wineries.
The landscape has changed and both sides will have to reach a happy medium but it will not be without casualties. Currently wineries offer cellar door sales but increasingly they are offering online sales directly competing with their traditional retail outlets. The reasons are obvious for wineries but they must maneuver carefully.
Through social media channels it is very clear and transparent what is happening. No one resents anyone in the industry making money providing no one gets hurt. The big worry for retail in this depressed climate is that if sales are going directly from the winery through social media channels what is the point of the retail establishment stocking their wine.
Fortunately wine retail is healthy right now and customers enjoy the fact that they can order a mixed case. Should this climate change where retail were more hit by the recession it would get very messy and I am not sure of the cost of such a battle.
Both sides need to think strategically about their positioning and market place. I don't know the answer nor claim to be able to see the future but this is on the horizon as more business is carried out online.
No comments:
Post a Comment