Wine.com Focuses Industry on Younger Consumers at Seventh Annual Growth Summit

Conference highlights growth, partnership opportunities with largest online wine retailer

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Feb 28, 2017, 07:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Wine.com, the nation's leading online wine retailer, hosted its seventh annual Wine.com Industry Growth Summit last Wednesday, recounting effective strategies in 2016 and outlining initiatives for the coming year. Attendees included over 300 industry executives, suppliers, and wholesaler partners of Wine.com.

The event featured presentations from Wine.com executives that focused on the industry's need to build relevance with younger consumers as they mature into their prime wine discovery years. "Our industry needs to position itself at the intersection of online shopping, mobile engagement and the growth of the millennial generation," said Rich Bergsund, Wine.com CEO. "With millennials turning 21 at the rate of 10,000/day, Wine.com and our trade partners have a major opportunity in front of us."

Some highlights from 2016:

Wine.com website revenue grew nearly 20% over previous year.
Mobile revenue grew 56%, with mobile and tablet traffic surpassing desktop traffic for the first time.
Millennials made up 33% of Wine.com customers, making them the largest generational segment purchasing on Wine.com, and growing the fastest at 25%.
Millennials bought premium wine from Wine.com, just like their Boomer and GenX counterparts, with an average bottle price over $30.
Wine.com continues to grow its selection and service, with over 27,000 unique labels sold in 2016 and live chat wine experts available 7 days/week.

Afternoon breakout sessions focused on tips and tools for suppliers and wholesalers to add their wines to the Wine.com portfolio, maintain inventory and update content.

"Creating strong relationships with our partners is key to successful growth, both for Wine.com and our suppliers," said Michael Osborn, Founder and VP Merchandising. "Using tools designed to manage their selection, inventory and content, suppliers are able to leverage Wine.com as a platform to tell their story and connect with loyal customers."

Danny Brager, Director of Nielsen's Beverage Alcohol Team, presented an overview of consumer trends in the US Wine Market in relation to trends at Wine.com, delivering insights into the millennial generation as wine consumers, and a look at growing segments in the industry, led by Rosé and Prosecco.

In addition, Wine.com presented three annual awards to recognize outstanding suppliers. Ste. Michelle Wine Estates (owners or importers of Columbia Crest, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, Antinori, Villa Maria, Torres and many more) received the Exemplary Supplier of the Year award in recognition of the broad assortment and national distribution of its United States portfolio, its attention to content and inventory, and its partnership in Wine.com marketing programs. The same award for a smaller portfolio went to Cape Classics, a specialty supplier that has long focused on South Africa, and now includes wine from the Loire Valley and Burgundy. The annual Wine.com Extreme Service Award was presented to Rick Mickaels of the Henry Wine Group (a division of Winebow), in appreciation for his consistent dedication to Wine.com. Working with Wine.com for six years, Rick consistently provides Wine.com and its customers with access to quality wines, accurate content, and competitive pricing.

Suppliers interested in working with Wine.com should contact [email protected]. Private collectors interested in learning more should contact [email protected].

About Wine.com
Wine.com is the nation's leading online wine retailer, offering selection, guidance and convenience not found in brick and mortar stores. The company provides its customers access to the world's largest wine store, with live chat wine experts available 7 days a week on its mobile and full websites. With multiple fulfillment centers and the most sophisticated retail wine distribution network in the United States, Wine.com delivers in 1-2 days to most addresses, offering date-certain delivery and the convenience of shipping for pickup at nearly 3,000 FedEx store locations. The company's popular StewardShip program provides unlimited wine delivery and exclusive access to new releases for $49 per year. Wine.com's mission, to inspire the wine lifestyle through innovation, is captured in its brand manifesto video, viewable here. For more information, visit the company's website at http://www.wine.com.

SOURCE Wine.com