Gondola's web links boost sales

Published: 10 September, 2010

Online wine retailer Gondola, which is backed by TV "dragon" Peter Jones, is partnering with restaurant review site Toptable and women's portal iVillage to boost sales.

The firm, founded last year, says the agility and speed at which online retailers can react, gives them a significant advantage over traditional outlets.

Angela Mount, who heads up Gondola, gave the example that it would be stocking and flagging up award-winning wines from the IWC Awards, revealed on Tuesday night, from Wednesday morning.

Linking to other websites - known as affiliate partnerships - are vital to grow the business, says Mount.

A deal struck with restaurant site Toptable, saw sales grow 7%. A move to show videos matching food and wine on the site should be running by October, and Toptable's newsletter allows the wine retailer access to 500,000 people.

Meanwhile, a link-up with iVillage, recommending wedding wines for brides, is also scheduled.

A recent mention on Marie Claire's home page boosted sales by 300% over five days. Mount told delegates at Tuesday's Global Wine Conference that daily hits had jumped from 50 per day to 500 overnight. "We sold 400 bottles of £10 wine in four hours," she added.

Within six months the website's conversion rate has reached 2% above average at 6%, the average basket is worth £103 and customers spend an average six minutes browsing the site.

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