Harpers has teamed up with Wines Direct to exclusively reveal the winners of Wines Direct Consumer Awards 2019 (indies and large merchants) alongside new insight into shopping behaviours drawn from the responses of more than 1,700 consumers
LARGE WINE MERCHANT WINNER: LAITHWAITE’S WINE
Laithwaite’s scored very highly on the users’ shopping experience, with its website very easy to navigate. And, when asked if the selection of wine was good, an impressive 100% of respondents said yes. People also responded positively to the fact that the merchant sometimes runs offers that aren’t exclusive to new customers.
Highly commended: Virgin Wines
Like Laithwaite’s, Virgin Wines scored highly for its user-friendly website, making the shopping experience easier for users. Its selection of wine and different wine-club options also lends Virgin mass appeal.
Large wine merchant
Laithwaite’s Wine
An overwhelming 85% of shoppers at Laithwaite’s Wine shop online, with the most common reason being that “it’s easy to browse through the whole selection of wines” (76%). This is followed very closely by “the delivery is quick and convenient” (71%). Other reasons consumers gave for shopping at Laithwaite’s included “interesting offers” and that there are some “hard to find wines”.
Virgin Wines
When asked why people choose to shop at the online-only Virgin Wines, the most common answer (79%) was that the delivery is quick and convenient. Shoppers also noted it was easy to browse through the selection of wines (75%).
Majestic Wine
The majority of Majestic Wine customers shop in-store (69%) because “the selection of wine is good” (91%) and also “the staff are friendly and helpful” (69%). This indicates that Majestic Wine shoppers enjoy the process of going into a store, possibly tasting the wines and learning about them from the employees. This is reinforced in the comments, which include ‘”personal touch from the local staff” and “the staff are fantastic”. Some 98% would recommend Majestic Wine to a friend.
Rude Wines
Rude Wines is an online-only wine merchant. The most common reason people selected for shopping with the business was that “it’s easy to browse through the selection of wines “(80%). Other positive comments included the “occasional offers on the wines”.
Naked Wines
Naked Wines, also an online-only wine merchant, saw 79% of saying they enjoyed shopping with it because “it’s easy to browse the whole selection of wines” and also that the delivery is “quick and convenient” (62%). It was also noted that Naked Wines were able to solve any issues with “courtesy and kindness” and customers liked that the business supports small producers.
When it comes to the larger wine merchants, it seems that good customer service is a more powerful driver than price. People are keen to know where their wines come from, they want something a little bit different, and they want to enjoy the wine experience outside of other shopping activities so they can focus solely on the wine.
Independent wine merchant winner: Carruthers and Kent (Gosforth)
Winning comments included:
“the best wine merchant I know”, “very knowledgeable about their wines” and “great atmosphere in-store”.
Highly commended:
The Blue Glass (Bedford),
Valhalla’s Goat (Glasgow),
Field and Fawcett (York),
The Wine Society (Stevenage)
Feedback from respondents suggested that people have a higher level of overall satisfaction when shopping with an independent wine merchant as opposed to a supermarket or large wine merchant.