Carina Ost

Ink Foundry

Email: carina@inkfoundry.com

Phone: 415-844-0999

Napa Technology, developer of the WineStation

Intelligent Preservation and Dispensing System, commissioned a survey of 40 top wine

retailers nationwide on wine purchasing trends and best practices for increasing bottle

sales.

Respondents agreed that today's consumers are willing to pay more, when given the

opportunity to sample wine before they buy. And those retailers willing to look outside

the wine bottle for creative and technologically innovative solutions are seeing the profits

pour in.

The survey found that 76 percent of retailers agree that wine buying customers are

savvier than they were 4 years ago. Recognizable labels are no longer cutting it, as 84

percent of retailers say consumers are demanding a wider variety of wines than they

have in the past. According to the majority of respondents, the average retail purchase

price is between $10-$20, with 58 percent reporting that consumers are paying less for a

bottle of wine today than they were 4 years ago.

However, consumers will increase the amount they spend per bottle when retailers

invest in try before you buy tactics. Successful efforts take the shape of loyalty

programs, daily wine tastings, and events designed to engage the consumer in sampling

higher priced wines. The largest margin of success was displayed in environments with

wine preservation systems, such as the WineStation, that offers temperature control, 60

day preservation and real time data that track product, customer preferences, and sales.

69 percent of those surveyed with preservation systems report offering finer and higher

priced wines to their grocery store aisles.

A mid-sized retailer in Detroit, Michigan states, "The WineStation® has really helped build

our wine club and wine sales business. With 16 different brands and varietals offered,

sampled and rotated seasonally, we've made choosing the right wine a fun experience

for our customers, and a profitable extension of our business. The WineStation

absolutely helped make us "Detroit's #1 Wine Store."

The survey mirrors the rewarding user experience, 69 percent of retailers state that

customers have a positive feeling about wine systems and believe it encourages both

additional and new purchases. Consumers are no longer satisfied with tasting notes

beneath the price tags at their local grocery store or wine shop. They want to try it for

themselves and use their own noses, palates, and list of adjectives. In fact, 97 percent of

retailers state that consumers are willing to spend more on a bottle of wine if they can

sample it first. 45 percent of retailers claim that when sampling is available the increase

in the wine bottle purchase will be 5 to 15 percent higher than average. Furthermore 30

percent of respondents report increases from 15 percent to more than 25 percent above

the store's average per bottle sale.

A leading grocery store chain serving the Mid-Atlantic region using the WineStation,

reports an average price for a glass of wine sampled through their WineStation® to be

$5.91. Showcasing that consumers, when given the opportunity will both sample and

indulge in finer and higher priced wines than the average $10-20 bottle that they are

used to buying. Additionally, the retailer found the average price per visit of customer

sampling activity to be $17.20, increasing customer loyalty, time spent in store and

overall profits.

With customers' thirst for wine knowledge and variety, retailers are becoming more

savvy in their ability to sample, making wine preservation systems a cheers-worthy tool

to keep retail wine sales growing and more profitable.

For a copy of the complete survey statistics, please click here.

Commissioned by Napa Technology, the retail wine survey took place in September

2011. The sample size included 40 top wine retailers who were contacted by Ink

Foundry via a private database and select open and closed social networks. Individuals

who participated in the survey are existing users of wine preservation systems, non-

users of preservation systems, grocery stores and wine shops.

Napa Technology, LLC is a designer and manufacturer of Intelligent Dispensing

Solutions for wine that ensures optimum freshness with each pour. The company's

breakthrough product, WineStation® , is designed to drive revenues and maximize the

profitability of each bottle. WineStation® has been adopted by hospitality, entertainment

and foodservice industries as a new way to serve, preserve and capitalize on the value

of available customer preference data.

For additional information on WineStation® and Napa Technology visit

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