How To Get Started Selling Wine Online
Once you’ve obtained all applicable licenses and permits, you need to build your eCommerce website with a platform that can handle the special requirements of an online wine store. 3dcart has everything you need, including integration with payment providers for high-risk merchants, simple-to-use age verification, connections with UPS and FedEx, and even a eCommerce ready wine website template. Sign up for a FREE online store trial with no obligations and no credit card needed, and check out all the features that make 3dcart the best shopping cart software for selling wine online.
What’s The Future Of Digital Wine Marketing
Two years out everything will be about omni-channel. The difference between the tasting room and your website will be blurred. We are seeing this now and it will only continue. Digital marketing is playing a bigger role in the tasting room.
- Its about capturing customer data the customer is more important than the transaction.
- Wineries are playing with SMS .
- Wineries are looking for technology to decrease wait times in long lines . We are seeing a growth in self-serve type applications, resulting in a better checkout experience.
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Examples Of Wine Ecommerce Websites
When it comes to ecommerce, your homepage is your digital welcome mat. And for higher-end merchandise like wine, first impressions are especially important.
Because the culture and tradition of wine drinking has a unique influence on the decisions of wine buyers. And wine drinkers have particular expectations about the merchants with whom they shop.
The first time a shopper visits your website, they dont necessarily have to be blown away .
But they shouldnt be completely unimpressed, either. And they absolutely cannot be disappointed or irritated by an unaesthetic design or non-user-friendly navigation.
Your wine ecommerce website should tell the story of your brand and invite customers to become part of your community.
The design of your site should demonstrate your commitment to providing an exceptional shopping experience for every shopper from wine novices to wine connoisseurs to non-wine drinkers shopping for a gift.
There should be no barriers between the customer and what theyre looking for.
For a little inspiration, here are three wine ecommerce websites built with the customer experience in mind.
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Sell Your Wine & Spirits
We are not an auction house we are specialists at buying wine, brandy, champagne and spirits outright from individual clients. We have worked hard to become a respected name in wine sales and earn the trust of everyone we have worked with. We have created the simplest process for you to sell your wine collection and we work hard to earn your trust through free appraisals, competitive pricing and a hassle-free easy process from the appraisal through payment.
We can buy your wine wherever you are in the United States. Whether you choose to ship your wine, bring your wine to us or let us come to you, we will provide you with the easiest, most convenient wine selling process possible. Some of the most common questions we hear are: How can I sell my wine and ensure Im getting the best price?, How do I know which wine merchant to sell to?. These are valid questions and TK Wine has proven to thousands of clients that we are the right choice company to whom you should sell your wine.
Here at TK Wine we emphasize the following when you sell wine and spirits to us:
- Immediate Payment, Maximum Price
- Upfront, same-day payment option available! We buy your wine speedily and at the best possible price.
- No Fees
- Multiple Selling Methods
Our buying process is designed to be as stress-free and convenient as possible.We guarantee that selling wine has never been easier. Contact TK Wine today!
Configure Basic Settings For The Feed
1. First, decide if you want to include all the products in your store or use a filter to exclude certain products.
2. Use a refresh interval if you frequently make changes to your product data in your store.
3. The rest of the basic configurations are already configured.
You may scroll down to the Feed Configurations Section.
4. If you need to use UTM parameters to product links, you can enable the option and input the UTM values.
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How To Sell Alcohol Online
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So, you want to start selling alcohol online? Thats the spirit! Its a wise business move after all, with US online alcohol sales reaching $2.6bn in 2019, and the US consuming more wine than any other country in the world since 2014.
However, you should know that starting an alcohol ecommerce business or as we like to call it, an al-commerce business involves some important legal steps that you cant afford to skip.
But dont panic. As always, weve got you covered. Heres a quick preview of whats to come
Can I Sell Wine Online
In general, yes, but only if you follow the laws in the state from which youre shipping as well as those in the state where youre shipping. There are different laws regarding the sale of wine online in each state, including what certifications and licenses are required, as well as how much can be shipped.
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What Are The Federal Laws For Online Alcohol Sales & Delivery
The laws concerning direct-to-consumer sales of alcohol are a bit convoluted and typically handled on a state by state basis. Because third-party apps use local vendors and delivery persons to carry out orders, as long as they comply with all explicitly stated state laws regarding the shipment, sale, and delivery of alcohol, their services are largely considered legal.
Out of state shipments are more clearly regulated in state laws, so manufacturers should read thoroughly to be sure they are in compliance in both the state they are shipping from and the state they are shipping to.
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Whats The Best Way To Start A Wine Ecommerce Website
If youre starting from scratch, your first step is to identify your target audience. Then, like any ecommerce business, youll need to determine which types of merchandise youll sell.
From there, you need to connect with a wholesaler.
Once youve built your website, select an online shopping cart and payment processing provider.
Next, decide how youll distribute your products and if it makes sense to invest in an online shipping software.
If you already have a brick-and-mortar location, then you only need to worry about building a user-friendly site, setting up an online shopping cart and payment system, and developing an efficient shipping process.
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S To Generate Vivino Product Feed In Your Woocommerce Wineshop
Creating an XML feed manually for all of your products is no longer required as there are several tools out there that you can use to easily generate a product feed for Vivino.
In this guide, I will show you how you can generate a product feed for Vivino using Product Feed Manager for WooCommerce which is one of the easiest plugins to use and has a pre-built template to help you generate Vivino XML feed in just a few clicks.
Follow these 7 quick steps below to use the plugin easily and generate Vivino product feed real quick.
The Backstory To Selling Wine From Canada
Having managed wine storage facilities in Canada since 2004, and working on private cellars across the country, we frequently get asked to assist collectors in sell some or all of their wine. Typical reasons include estate sales, health matters, divorce, debt, etc. Many people realize that their palate has changed since they started collecting and theyre long in California Cabernet, for example, a wine they no longer enjoy.
Iron Gate began by working with US auction houses in 2008 to send Canadian collections south for sale. We would manage all the logistics, inventory, etc. and see the sale through to the client receiving funds.
While many clients were pleased with the results, others preferred not to have the risk associated with auctions in a very competitive market like the US. For this reason we began to form relationships with retailers outside of Canada who would offer a fixed price for the wine which they then resold at their stores.
In 2015 with the help of a US partner we began to look at the possibility of opening a retail outlet in NY. The concept was simple. The wine would come to our facility in Toronto for inventory and photography. It would then ship to a facility in Buffalo, NY where is would be held until sold. Title would pass in the United States through our US retail liquor license and the seller would be paid in USD from our US corporation.
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Do You Want Your Personalized Recommendation
Top tip
Ask friends, family, and colleagues to test your website before you publish it. That way, youll gain an outsiders perspective on how your website looks and feels, which should help you create the perfect experience for your future customers.
You now know how to sell alcohol online, but the hard work doesnt stop here. Yes, you can now deliver your beautiful brand to doorsteps around the world, but you need to promote your website and get your business out there before you can start earning serious money. In order to reach new customers and increase sales, you must nail your digital marketing.
First of all, you should connect your online store to social media. This feature is offered on both Shopify, Wix, and Square Online, and enables social network users to click one button and jump straight to your online store.
Shopify is soon releasing the feature, which means Shopify will generate a Facebook store for you and seamlessly connect your Shopify inventory to a new Facebook storefront that looks stunning and creates a lovely shopping experience.
You can also . This means users can purchase your products directly from Facebook. Did you know that Mark Zuckerbergs behemoth has over 2.6 billion active users? Think of all those untapped customers!
Spend some time flicking through alcoholic beverage trade calendars, such as 10times, and see which events would offer the most reward for your business.
Top tip
Example Feed Structure For Vivino
Heres a sample Vivino feed structure that you can follow to create a Vivino feed:
< vivino-product-list> < product> < product-name> Apothic Winemaker's Blend Red California 2013< /product-name> < price> 7.45< /price> < quantity-is-minimum> false< /quantity-is-minimum> < bottle_size> 750 ml< /bottle_size> < bottle_quantity> 1< /bottle_quantity> < link> http://www.wayback-wines.com/california/wine-12345.html< /link> < inventory-count> 20< /inventory-count> < product-id> 1125< /product-id> < extras> < producer> Apothic< /producer> < wine-name> Winemaker's Blend Red< /wine-name> < appellation> California< /appellation> < vintage> 2013< /vintage> < country> United States< /country> < color> Red< /color> < upc> 0123456789001< /upc> < varietal> 70% Merlot, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% Malbec< /varietal> < alcohol> 13.4%< /alcohol> < description> This is a great wine from Apothic with good value.< /description> < ageing> 12 months in oak and 12 months in bottle< /ageing> < image> http://www.wayback-wines.com/wp-content/uploads/img/2535550.jpg< /image> < /extras> < /product> < /vivino-product-list>
Now that you know the attributes to include in the feed, let us look at how you can generate Vivino XML feed easily using a WordPress plugin.
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Where To Sell Your Wine Online
If you do not want to go through the stress of getting a brick and mortar location, selling your wine online is your best bet. You can either set up your own platform to market your wines, or you can partner with already established platforms online. There are really good ones that can enabke you make your listing so people can see your wine. These platforms can include
- JJ Buckley Fine Wines
While there are numerous online platforms for selling wine, one of the most convenient option is JJ Buckley Fine Wines. Their team of wine experts will guide you along each step of the selling process, from explaining what they require for your wine inventory to providing a competitive initial offer and even durable shipping materials.
While carrying out the business, they carefully inspect each item once it reaches their facility, finalizing the offer and sending payment within 10 business days.
Not only are JJ Buckley Fine Wines highly skilled wine experts, but you can sell to them whether you want to transfer one bottle or a whole collection of fine wines. And with no minimum required, your fine wine wont need to be bundled before you can contact their team.
- Naked Wines
When prospective buyers look at a wines page they will see the percentage of those who have said they would buy again a list of peoples reviews.
- Vivino
Streamlined Email Signup Forms On Multiple Locations On Your Website
There are two key things you need to get right when it comes to email signup forms embedded on your website:
Let us tackle item #1 first. It is very tempting to try and obtain key information such as last name and zip code. But the conversion rate drops dramatically once you start asking for more than just first name and email address.
There is plenty of time to gather more information LATER in the customer journey. Your goal should be to make it as EASY as possible to subscribe. It makes a huge difference over time!
When it comes to providing compelling reasons to sign up, there is NOTHING WORSE than simply saying, Join our email list. Consider that there are over 1.8 BILLION websites on the internet and they all are asking for peoples email addresses. If you want to sell wine online like a pro, you are going to have to do MUCH better than that!
Spend a little time with your team brainstorming what compelling reasons you might offer potential subscribers. If you get stuck, take a look at a few ideas to get the cerebral blood moving through your noggin.
- Be the first to know about limited releases and special offers.
- Get special offers available only to our subscribers.
- Be first in line for our highly allocated wines.
- Keep up to date with special events.
Providing compelling reasons to subscribe will have a dramatic effect on your conversion rates!
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How To Sell Rare Wine
Selling rare wine is best done by going through an auction house or broker. This is because rare wines should be evaluated and priced by professionals to ensure you make a profit. They also take most of the risk on themselves, so you’ll be protected if something goes wrong.
Reach out to experienced companies first to get a rough valuation of your wine or collection. Factor in seller’s fees as well, then pick whoever you feel will do the best job of making you money. Then sit back, and wait for them to do the hard work.
How Can I Sell Wine Online
You can sell your wine auction house or consignor on the Internet. There are many online auctions that are similar to eBay where you can safely and legally sell your wine. Traditional auction house. Sell locally on Wine Forums. Merchants who sell online. Platforms that allow you to trade online. A peer-to-peer system. You can sell it yourself on your own retail website.
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The 5 Best Online Marketplaces To Sell Wine
Unsurprisingly, the COVID-19 pandemic precipitated a surge in retail sales online, rising 32% in the United States in 2020 . The wine industry was no different, and every sign shows this trend will continue. For example, Mordor Intelligence estimates the wine industry will grow by just over 4% between 2021 and 2026 . And SVB Bank expects that online sales will represent 20% of wineries revenue by the year 2030, from just 2% pre- pandemic .
Millennials are largely contributing to this rise in online sales, with 80% of wine now consumed off-premises . This rise in off-premises consumption is further evidenced by the sharp increase in Direct-to-Consumer sales .
If youre already selling your wines online, these figures may not be too surprising. But if youre thinking of taking advantage of the many marketplaces now available, you may be in luck. To date, 46% of U.S. retailers sell through online marketplaces . That figure rises to 59% for retailers based in Europe. And with marketplace sales doubling within just four years, theres a vast market for you to tap into and grow your wine sales .
Theres a seemingly infinite list of online marketplaces to choose from. They serve every need across every industry. In this article, weve shortlisted the 5 best.
The 5 best online marketplaces to sell wine
Regularly Purge Your Cold Subscribers
No doubt some of you reading this are going to stiffen up at the thought of intentionally deleting hundreds of cold subscribers but please keep reading. This is about quality not quantity.
The best definition of cold subscribers is someone who has not opened or clicked an email within the last 90 days. They are not opening your emails now and they are highly unlikely to open any in the future.
But, rather than just delete them straight away, try following a cold subscriber re-engagement workflow. This article from ConvertKit will help immensely.
No matter how compelling and interesting your content is, there are going to be people who lose interest. You need to know who these people are and deal appropriately with them.
Working only with highly engaged subscribers will do several marvelous things for you. It will for sure improve your open rates. Itll lower your email software rates . It will also breath fresh wind into the sails of your creativity. There is nothing as fun as communicating with people who really want to hear from you!
Read Also: How To Start Selling Wine Online
