How Wine Sampling Impacts Retail Sales In Grocery Stores

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TheChangingWineAisle
Retail&GroceryStoreTrends
Webinar
September 5, 2013
Tuesday, September 10, 13

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Welcome!

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Today’s Panelists
Ed Cook
Director of Wine, Harris Teeter
Ed Cook oversees the beer and wine selection in
over 200 stores, from Southern Delaware to
Northern Florida. Harris Teeter stores each carry
on average over 2,000 varieties of wine. They
also hire knowledgeable wine consultants for
select stores to assist customers with wine
recommendations, party planning, special orders,
and hard-to-ﬁnd bottles of wine.
Jack Robertiello
Writer, Consultant, Wine & Spirits
Judge
Jack Robertiello writes about beer, wine, spirits
and cocktails. He judges in spirit and wine
competitions and speaks at industry conferences
and events, leads spirit tastings, teaches about
the best way to run a successful beverage
program and consults about spirits, spirit trends
and the beverage alcohol business.

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Your Host
Jayne Portnoy is the Vice President, Marketing and Brand Strategy, Napa
Technology. She has led marketing programs for brands such as The Tampa Bay
Buccaneers of the National Football League, Outback Steakhouse, Boneﬁsh Grill,
Roy's Hawaiian Fusion Cuisine, and the Soho Leisure Group. Portnoy is
passionate about creating relevant marketing programs that appeal to women.
She can be reached at: jayne@napatechnology.com
Carin Oliver
Chief Innovation Officer
Angelsmith, Inc
Your Moderator
As the Chief Innovation Officer for Angelsmith,
Carin is responsible for developing data-based
digital marketing strategies that drive conversions
for brands including Gloria Ferrer Vineyards,
Rodney Strong Wine Estates, Pinot Patch, Romililly
Wines and other packaged products, entertainment,
restaurants & gaming.
She is super passionate about great storytelling,
awesome wine, mouthwatering food and big happy
fat Labradors.

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Who is Napa Technology?
Developed in Silicon Valley, Napa
Technology is the designer and
manufacturer of the WineStation®, an
innovative Intelligent Dispensing and
Preservation solution for the hospitality
and entertainment industries.
First introduced in 2005, the
WineStation® now pours nearly 3 million
ounces of wine per month from its
systems serving restaurants, hotels, cruise
ships, arenas, airports, wine bars, grocery
stores, and retailers worldwide.
This far reaching presence, coupled with a
commitment to ongoing research, means
Napa Technology can identify and provide
insights on industry trends and changes in
consumer behavior and consumption
patterns.

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Webinar Overview
As the economy recovers from the reckless 90’s, 21st
century grocers and retailers compete for a smaller dollar
from a more savvy and careful consumer.
Grocers are exploring areas once only found in wine retail
and restaurant environments. Things like sampling stations,
cafe spaces, wine events, and wine-speciﬁc staff assisting
customers, are all part of the cutting edge grocery store.
For their part, wine retailers are retooling their stores in big
ways too. The generic, library-like set-up of wines is being
replaced by less snobby, fun and open spaces. New stores
have wine designations like “ﬁzzy” or “smooth” and bottles
are grouped together by what the customer is looking for,
instead of the standard of growing regions that’s quickly
losing relevance to the smartphone generation.

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Webinar Overview
Both grocers and wine retailers are looking for a way to
capitalize and expand on the shifting behaviors of
consumers who aren’t just crossing ‘wine’ off a shopping list,
but rather looking for an experience they haven’t had before.
Sampling is the key to an experience-driven customer and
the foundation for increased sales of both bottles and cases
of wine.
For off-premise businesses things that used to be an
afterthought are turning into focal points.
Consumers are looking for easy, memorable experiences in
the wine section of grocery stores and on the shelves of
specialty shops.

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The Value Of The Marketplace
The current restaurant environment is shifting away from
bottles towards glasses. It’s a trend dictated by consumers,
who want both variety and economy. The bottle mentality
isn’t in sync with today’s preferred restaurant experience.
Each diner wants a different wine to match each course. For a
table of two that could mean six different wines and that rules
out bottles.
According to a survey conducted by GuestMetrics in 2012,
wine sales by the bottle have decreased 13% as wines by the
glass have risen. Another survey conducted this year by
Restaurant Sciences showed a regular increase between 4 to
8% for on-premise sales.
That means the sales are not being lost as much as diverted.
Wine sales on the whole have been in the ascendancy, even
with the troubled economy, for 17 consecutive years.

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The Value Of The Off Premise
Marketplace
People are being more frugal and adventurous at the
same time. It’s a glorious cycle for BOTH the
consumer and operator.
Guests are taking small but regular risks by-the-glass
when dining out, which gives them more conﬁdence
to explore in off-premise settings. This makes the
relationship between on and off premise competitive,
but also supportive. If each location is ready to
provide the expected experience.
“I had this type of wine at a restaurant last night and
loved it, what do you have here that I can sample? “
“What do you offer by the bottle?”

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Marketplace
"The U.S. is the largest wine market in the world
with 19 consecutive years of volume growth.
Competition for retail shelf space and consumer
attention is intense. Wine Institute President and CEO
Robert P. (Bobby) Koch

In 2013, the annual growth retail sales will rise 6%. In
March of this year, the 4 week total was more than
$400 million.
In 2012, the off-premise wine market represented
$34.6 billion dollars

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Marketplace
"Consumers have more access to wine throughout the
country with wine-selling locations expanding by well over
50,000 from ﬁve years ago. Off-premise retail outlets grew
15% to almost 175,000 outlets, while restaurants and other
on-premise outlets increased 12% to 332,000 locations in
the U.S. Retailers recognize that wine is a large and growing
category, even in economically challenging times, and tends
to attract upper income consumers, and all legal drinking age
groups. Wine also pairs well with food, leading to larger,
more proﬁtable shopping baskets."
Danny Brager, vice president of the beverage alcohol practice,
Nielsen

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Marketplace
The premium wine category with the biggest price
reduction enjoyed the biggest percentage gain in
sales during the past 52 weeks, according to March
data from major U.S. food and drug stores.

Domestic table wines priced at $20 and higher came
down in price by $3.62 per case, yet rang up sales of
$238 million for a 15% increase.

Wines at $8-$10.99 were the second fastest growing
segment. Their sales increased by 10%.

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Yesterday Vs. Today
The dimly lit, narrow aisles of yesterday are giving way to better
lighting, more space, and chances for the consumer to sample
more than a cube of cheese.
Today’s consumer is looking for off-premise experiences that
equal or exceed their on-premise counterparts. Dynamic
environments, fully engaged experiences and convenience are no
longer “nice to haves” they are required for proﬁtability.

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When Sampling Happens
once a
week
41%
daily
30%
2-3 times
a week
19%
3-5 times
a week
10%
According to Napa
Technology’s 2013 Retail
Study, sampling by off-
premise operators, even
sampling described as
“infrequent,” is provided at
least once a week.
Interestingly, the second most
popular route is an aggressive
daily routine.
83% of those surveyed cite
that sampling translates into
customers more likely to
spend more for a bottle of
wine.

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Where is the Price Point
Right?
The Lion’s share of bottle
sales are happening between
$11 and $30.
That range accounts for 78
percent of survey respondents
sales, with 56% happening
between $11 and $20.
Higher end wine isn’t ﬂat-
lining either – when given a
chance to sample before
making a purchase, bottle
prices are exceeding the $100
range.
$11-$20$21-$30 +
= 78%

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Red Or White? No More
On-premise operators are wrestling with wine-by-
the-glass offerings reaching into the double digits
(25 WBG offerings is average). This same
expectation applies to the off-premise operator.
If off-premise operators want to compete they
have to provide as large a selection as possible in
an easy to use, engaging experience for
consumers. They have to do this while managing
valuable shelf space and growing inventories.
60% of those surveyed reported having a wine
director or sommelier on staff to assist customers
ﬁnd new varietals and brands. According to
respondents this same supportive sell leads to
greater increases in sales.

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Purchasing Influencers
Do retailers believe they can positively impact the purchase
cycle?
Most Grocers and Retailers think YES. They’re investing in
bigger spaces and offering more variety, more sampling, and
more of the established favorites. They’re going high concept
on stores and presentation.
Sampling is not met with resistance, but the smaller margin
on wine, the staffing required, and the controls necessary for
manual sampling make wine sampling less simple than its
food counterparts. Wine, unlike a new variety of cheddar, can
also be intimidating to the consumer.
Today’s technology is catching up with the wave of demand
and need to provide secure, simple and 24/7 sampling. This
sampling in turn provides more proﬁts, more often.

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It’s In the Numbers
•89% of Respondents Offer Sampling
•30% offer Daily Sampling
•85% Report that sampling increases overall sales
10-25%
•96% reported an increase in bottle sales of
10-30% on bottles that are sampled.
•Napa Technology customers report a 60%
increase in case movement when wines are
showcased and sampled.
•Napa Technology also reports a 68% growth in
retail installations since 2011

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News From The Front Lines:
How things are changing in the modern grocery store.

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Harris Teeter Case Study
Of the 210 stores located from Delaware through Florida 201
locations offer beer and wine. In 2012 Harris Teeter introduced a
higher end concept store called 201 Central, focusing on wine, beer
and specialty food offerings.
Aggressive in their approach, wherever sampling is permitted, it is
both in effect and “substantially impacts sales.”
The most important elements of successful sampling are:
• store volume
• time of day
• quality of the item
• engagement level of the person curating the event

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Harris Teeter Case Study
65% of sampling events are related to promotions
• wines that pair with Thanksgiving favorites
• wines that are best for warm summer days
• sparkling wines for new year’s
35% are tied to new brand launches
The biggest change is the blurring lines of categories
• organization of wine is less about appellation and
more about type of wine
• poor performers are most often replaced by red
blends and sweeter wines

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Graduating The Consumer:
Staying on the cutting edge

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How to Sell the Sample – What you need to be
doing now.
Today’s consumers are much smarter than they were 5 years
ago, but navigating aisles is still a challenge.
• Staff knowledgeable employees to assist in selection
• Rethink displays by flavor profile vs region
• Do what they do:
• on-premise operators have been offering wine flights,
pairing suggestions, and winemaker events. Replicate the
same experience in your aisles.
• Don’t be a snob.
• The attitude of “that’s not the way to do it” is leaving.
Customer interest is high. They want to be educated
without being patronized.
• Don’t have an expert? Today’s technology can provide
expert and immediate info in the form or kiosks, apps, and
digital content.

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Sample Smart
Fight the impulse to set up the event in the front of a store.
•People will have to move quickly by or block the ﬂow of
normal shoppers
People should be able to mingle, to talk to experts on
hand, to nibble something if it’s available, to educate
themselves with both digital and printed information
The winemakers themselves make the biggest difference to
long-term loyalty, but an educated and enthusiastic curator
is the next best thing.

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Upgrading the Experience:

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Engaging in the Aisles for
Increased Revenue
SAMPLING PROGRAMS & ON SITE EVENTS
•People want to indulge as much as ever, but they’re
focused more on smaller sizes, something that’s
easier to navigate and simpler to enjoy.
•Diversity is king. The old favorites are doing well, but
making way for lower alcohol wines, for international
sparkling wines like Cava or Prosecco, for a variety of
new regions and new tastes from established ones.
•The largest segments are casual drinkers, parents,
people looking for food pairing information on the
bottle. In many ways it’s marketing ﬁrst, wine second.
It’s a new phenomenon.

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EXPERT TIPS & MARKETING SUPPORT
•If grocers can track what you tasted, liked and
purchased – they can market to you more
effectively.
•Knowledgeable staff make a big difference, but
the information itself is key. Even if you don’t
have a sommelier or wine director on the ﬂoor
you can provide consumers with the same
information and similar experience in other
ways.
Engaging in the Aisles for
Increased Revenue

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Questions?

How Wine Sampling Impacts Retail Sales In Grocery Stores

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