THE FRENCH AND THE WINE WORLD. ACCORDING TO SOWINE, IN 2016, MORE AND MORE FRENCH WINE LOVERS ARE USING THE WEB AND SOCIAL NETWORKS TO SATISFY THEIR CURIOSITY (27%) AS WELL AS MAKING PURCHASES (34%)

Every year, the marketing agency Sowine (www.sowine.com) examines the relationship between the French people and the wine world, considering consumer behavior of French wine lovers and their relationship with new technologies. Perhaps the most important news is that 34% of the French, in 2016, bought wine on the Internet. This is incredible progress, if you think that in 2013 the percentage was just 10%; however a good half of those who buy online do it sporadically, almost random. Most consumers (78%) still prefer the supermarket, but also wine shops or buying directly at the winery.
Returning to online purchases, most of the French purchase on the wine producer’s e-shop, then private sellers, and only a third online retailers, followed by large retailers’ sites and generic e-commerce. Another interesting fact is that % of French people have never purchased online wine, simply because... it never crossed their minds.
It’s really not that big of a surprise, since French consumers have a very formal relationship, one might say, with wine. Most consider themselves neophytes, and believe that the offer is vast and choosing is quite complex, so one needs to be well informed before choosing a bottle of wine. How? 27% get information on the web, which makes Internet the third source of information for wine lovers, after the circle of family and friends (52%) and experts opinions (42%). And, social networks are no exception as one in five French follow pages dedicated to wine on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat, which are important commercially as 30% of people between18 and 25 have bought wine they read about on social medias. Further, wine brings together millions of people, especially on Facebook, where 25% of French users reveal sharing photos and status related to wine, and among young people between 18 and 25 the percentage goes up to 38%.