Sainsbury’s and Vivino partner for wine-aisle recommendations

By Jo Gilbert

Published: 05 August, 2021

Sainsbury’s has launched an in-store and online wine ratings partnership with Vivino to offer “honest peer-reviews” as research shows that wine is the top category that consumers rely on for recommendations, beating milestone life decisions such as mortgages and new job opportunities.

Across a range of wines, Sainsbury’s customers can now view a Vivino rating on a scale of one to five, with a 3.7 rating or higher considered a top-rated wine. The ratings will be displayed alongside the bottles in-aisle across stores nationwide, as well as available on the Sainsbury’s website.

The partnership comes as Sainsbury’s research findings show how much people rely on recommendations when it comes to choosing wine.

When asked what they rely on most when it comes to recommendations for choosing a product, wine came out on top (23%), beating mortgages (19%), new job opportunities (13%) and even advice on how to end a relationship (9%).

Jack Lucas, wine buyer for Sainsbury’s, said: “Offering amazing choice with a wide range of exceptional wines is something we pride ourselves on at Sainsbury’s. We’re taking this one step further by partnering with Vivino to offer customers additional reviews on a number of bottles across our wine offering. We know how much our customers value recommendations from friends and family when it comes to choosing wine, so we’re really excited to be bringing this new and exclusive partnership so that they are able to make more informed decisions when shopping with us in-store and online”.

Sainsbury’s said their research shows that the nation’s confidence in shopping for a top-notch wine is “shaky”. Around 40% don’t feel confident in their knowledge when deciding on a good quality wine to buy, compared to just 27% who don’t feel confident when investing in a new car or buying a new house (21%).

The retailer also found that over one in ten Brits (11%) admit to have copied a friend or family’s wine choice in a restaurant or observed what other shoppers are choosing in the wine aisle when they are stuck on which wine to try. Friends (17%) and online reviewers (13%) were found to be the most trusted fountains of knowledge when it comes to wine.

Sainsbury’s Vivino ratings are available to access across 53 wines in 423 stores nationwide and via the website now as part of an 8-week trial.

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