Is it time to rethink wine aisles?
Could changing how wine is sold be the solution to some of the industry’s biggest problems?
It’s clear the U.S. wine industry is experiencing a decrease in consumer demand, especially in the lower and middle market tiers. Domestically, the industry generates most of its revenue from 44 million core wine drinkers (a mere 18% of the 21+ U.S. population), so even the smallest decline in sales is cause for alarm. The other portion of the 21+ U.S. population who drink alcohol marginally, rarely, or never buy wine — a staggering 130 million people who, for the purpose of this article, will be referred to as “wine avoidant.”
The industry has invested ample resources in its attempt to appeal to the diverse consumer types within this wine avoidant group. Such efforts have led to wine aisles jam-packed with a plethora of offerings to suit any taste — organic wines, low-calorie wines, vegan wines, wines in cans, premium boxed wine, wines with interactive labels, etc. And yet… declining sales persist.
Perhaps the issue isn’t so much what is being sold, but rather how it’s being sold.
Imagine what would happen if all the core wine drinkers upon whom the industry depends simply disappeared. How might the selling of wine need to change if the future survival of the industry relied solely on wine avoidant consumers?
Most would agree that off-premise retail establishments such as grocery, drug, and liquor stores would become the most important sales channel since that is where most Americans already buy their alcohol. The question would then be whether or not these retailers currently sell wine in a way that caters to wine avoidant consumers — spoiler alert, they don’t.
The problem…
The way wine is sold in most stores is not designed with wine avoidant consumers in mind; it caters to a tiny fraction of consumers who are passionate about wine, care about brands and wine scores, drink wine fairly often, and who possess the knowledge required to navigate the hundreds of brands and product variations on the shelf.
Wine aisles do not accommodate the majority of alcoholic beverage consumers who:
Find wine confusing.
Are overwhelmed by the vast selection of brands and varieties.
Choose products by the label/package design.
Aren’t loyal to and/or don’t care about brands.
Prefer lower alcohol/calorie beverages.
Feel wine is pretentious and unapproachable.
Think wine is too expensive (i.e. cost per unit of alcohol).
Feel wine doesn’t fit their personality or style.
Don’t have friends or family who drink wine.
Prefer the taste of other alcoholic beverages.
Don't think wine is part of a healthy lifestyle.
Don’t like the awful hangover wine can cause.
Don’t like the taste of wine.
A reimagining of how wine is sold in stores could address many of these issues. Even something as seemingly unchangeable as the dislike for the taste of wine could be resolved if consumers were presented with a display enabling them to easily find sweeter, lower alcohol wines.
The solution…
Wine avoidant consumers need their own, uniquely designed wine aisle display — a supplementary, well-organized, aesthetically pleasing, comprehensible, clutter-free display that offers an ever-changing variety of limited edition, design-focused, non-branded, non-varietal, easy-drinking blends categorized by sweetness, subcategorized by type (red, white, rosé), and all priced exactly the same, in the $10-15 range.
This brand-free, consumer-focused display would simplify the decision-making process by removing many of the variables that cause consumers to become overwhelmed and confused (and consequently avoidant). Not only would this streamlined approach likely lead to higher sales, but it might also alleviate some of the other issues the industry is currently facing:
Rising overhead costs leading to unsustainably low profit-margins: Non-branded wines greatly reduce the costs associated with brand development and promotion.
Environmental challenges causing fluctuating and unreliable yields: Limited edition blends provide much more flexibility and help producers ride out challenging years.
Barriers to entry (e.g. ever-increasing competition and high minimum production requirements): A non-branded, limited-edition approach to selling wine creates greater opportunities for producers of all sizes and capabilities.
Decrease in consumer spending: A broad, ever-changing assortment of wines, all offered at the same affordable price, will appeal to budget-conscious consumers.
In closing…
Change is risky. This is especially true in the wine industry where there’s little to no room for failure. That said, I acknowledge this idea might be a bit drastic. A redesigning of wine aisles across the country is no small (or cheap) feat. But as they say, “no risk, no reward.”
I hope, at the very minimum, this proposal sparks some much-needed discussions about opportunities the industry might be missing… opportunities that may also potentially require some radical changes to be made.
Frankly, at this point, can the wine industry afford not to?
Resource:
Wine Market Council. U.S. Wine Consumer Segmentation Slide Handbook. 2022
https://winemarketcouncil.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/2021-22_WMC_US_Wine_Consumer_Segmentation_Slide_Handbook-FINAL.pdf, PDF file.