Napa Technology Part of Try-Before-You-Buy Trend
Many regional grocery stores are discovering that when it
comes to selling wine in December, traditional holiday promotions are just a
small part of the overall strategy. The real work for achieving success in the
wine aisle during the holiday season starts much earlier and takes place
througout the year.
Facing stiff competition from big-box discount stores like
Sam’s Club and Costco, many smaller, regional grocery stores are putting a new
emphasis on customer service and employee education. Friendly, personal attention and well-trained employees with a
deep knowledge of wine are giving the big discount stores a run for their
money.
BUILDING TRUST
The scale of local and regional grocery stores means that
they usually have a more approachable, hometown atmosphere and managers are
taking advantage of this by hosting wine tasting events to help build deeper
connections and develop greater loyalty with their customers.
“Wine tastings are good events to get customers excited about
new wines,” said Trac Le, Wine Buyer at Bi-Rite market in San Francisco. “We do
events in our off-site community space where our customers can relax and have
fun while we let them taste the new releases. We like to educate our customers
that way.”
Many stores are taking it a step further by installing
self-serve wine dispensing and preservation systems, like those designed by Napa Technology, that keep wine
fresh for long periods, reduce spoilage and allow customers to taste wine
whenever the store is open.
“It’s all part of a larger try-before-you-buy trend in wine
sales,” says Jayne Portnoy, Vice President, Marketing and Brand Strategy, at Napa
Technology in Campbell, California. “Grocery stores are starting to realize
that wine tastings lead to more bottle and case sales.”
INVESTING IN EDUCATION
A number of grocery store wine buyers expect staff to taste
new wines and attend extensive training sessions to help customers make better
choices. “We have our employees taste the wine they’re selling so they can make
good recommendations to our customers,” Kevin Forsaith, Wine Director at
Draeger’s Market in Menlo Park, California.
But the trend is not limited to the West Coast. Southwestern
grocery store H.E.B., based in San Antonio, has an extensive training program
for wine department management and staff who are trained by the Wine &
Spirit Education Trust. In addition to the in-depth staff training, H.E.B. also
installed WineStations in high-profile locations to encourage customers to
taste and get to know which wines are right for them.
DECISION TIME
Having been treated with special attention at tasting events
all year long, customers have come to rely on their local stores so much that
by the time the holidays roll around, they know which wines they want to buy
and where to buy it.
“We usually do one Champagne tasting the first week in
December to kick things off and that’s all we need to get the sales going,”
says Forsaith. “Around the holidays, we get so busy we don’t host our regular
tastings in the last three weeks leading up to Christmas because we have so
many regular customers that need our help.”
Installing wine dispensing systems that let customers taste
wine whenever they shop and hosting regular wine tasting events help create a
convivial atmosphere that cements loyalty between customers and their local
supermarket. Strategic thinking throughout the year means that when it comes
time for supermarkets to sell wine during holidays, the customers just show up
like magic.
This was a guest blog provided by Ryan Owens account
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