Should Retailers Take a Leaf out of the Restaurant Wine Menu?
Posted on Thu 21st Jul 2016 at 12:13
Columnist Guy Woodward has recently written an interesting piece for Harpers magazine, in which he extols the virtues of the pared-down restaurant wine list.
He writes: “The new “less-is-more” approach means that every listing has to count, drawing attention to most interesting options while focusing the mind of the task at hand. It also simplifies matters for the 90% of customers whose main aim is not to look an idiot, not to have to speak to the sommelier and not to blow their budget or look stingy." It's a fascinating point, and it does is all good to remember, from time to time, that people have other things to do aside from buying wine. Woodward's central point in the article is that no where is this more true than when shoppers are in supermarkets, hunting for a long list of items which happens to include one marked 'wine'. What people want when they're in this situation is an easy way to choose a good bottle of wine - not an enormous wall of bottles with no quick way to compare them. This is something that retailers should take very seriously. Too much choice is not necessarily a good thing, and you might be helping your customers far more if you offer a smaller selection of quality driven wines of interest and difference not found on supermarket shelves, along side providing easily accessible guidance on which one they may like to buy. If you are an independent wine store you have an advantage over the big supermarkets as your customers will be focused on making a wine only purchase enabling you to capitalise on this by offering them good information about the wines you stock and their region of origin. The message for all retailers is clear, make the experience easy and pleasurable for customers, especially the ones in a rush, and you will be rewarded. You can always keep a wider range of wines on your website, as online browsers are much less stressed! As suppliers, we of course realise that reducing your stocks mean that we have to work harder to retain your custom. We are absolutely committing to doing this and look forward to discussing how we can help you meet the challenges of the new retail environment.