Wine & e-commerce, between whites and reds there is growing interest in rosé wines

What are the favorite wines of Italians who buy online? With the acceleration of the digital transformation over the last two years, the food and beverage sectors have recorded online peaks never reached before in Italy and the wine sector is one of those most affected by this trend: for this reason, Idealo, Europe’s leading international portal for price comparison, has investigated to understand how the preferences of digital Italians have changed when it comes to wine. In the last year (March 2021 - February 2022) interest in the world of wine in Italy has grown by 16% online. Contributing to this significant increase is the purchase of white wines (+32%), which is far higher than red wines, which stand at + 3.5%. In the eternal struggle between white and red, however, it seems that the winner is rosé wine, which this year recorded growth in interest of +115% compared to the previous year. But it is Prosecco that is “beating the competition”, as it continues to be the favorite of Internet users online, with a growth of 180%.
Although the biggest growth is in Prosecco and rosé wine, the main focus of interest is still red wine, which accounts for over 50% of total wine searches, followed by white wine, which accounts for 24.5%. It should be noted that the age group that has recorded the highest increase in interest in wine is that between 18 and 24 years old, +150% of online searches compared to the previous year. On the other hand, the other age groups showed more or less constant trends compared to 2020-21. There was an excellent response from the female universe, with interest in the wine category increasing by more than 200% compared to +80% for men. A growth in interest that contrasts with online wine prices, which have fallen significantly. Whites are down 25%, reds almost 15% and rosés are the ones that have kept their prices the most constant with only a 7% drop in costs. Despite this, those who buy wine online would like to pay less for it: an average of 30% according to the “ideal price” function of Idealo, an alert system that allows the user to set the price considered right for a certain product in advance and to be notified exactly when that price is reached. According to Internet users, rosé wines in particular are too expensive and the wish would be to pay 60% less for them. The boom in online wine sales is undoubtedly stimulated by the possibility of making considerable savings if you buy in the cheapest month thanks to price comparison. Those who bought wine online over the last year were able to benefit from an average saving of up to 28%. In detail, the saving on white wine purchases was over 36%, with reds it was 31% and rosé wines only 11%.
But which are the most popular wines? Among the most popular reds online this year, according to Idealo, is Tignanello, a Tuscan wine icon, followed by Bruciato Bolgheri di Guado al Tasso, both from Marchesi Antinori, and Sassicaia Bolgheri (Tenuta San Guido). Among the whites, instead, the Lugana Cà dei Frati was awarded, followed by the Cervaro della Sala of Castello della Sala, again by Antinori, and the Vermentino di Sardegna Costamolino by Argiolas. Finally, for rosé wines, there was almost unanimous interest in Calafuria Tormaresca del Salento. Online purchases are more popular in December, probably in conjunction with the Christmas period: in 2021, the month of December marked the annual peak in purchases of white and red wines, as well as Prosecco. Milder temperatures are expected for rosé, which peaked in September. At a territorial level, the region that is taking most advantage of e-commerce in wine sales is Tuscany, followed by Sicily, Puglia, Sardinia and Veneto. Lombardy is in seventh place and Piedmont in eighth.
The most famous Prosecco-based aperitif is undoubtedly the Spritz, now popular throughout Italy and increasingly abroad. As between white and red wine, Italians’ online preferences are divided between those who choose the Aperol-based one and those who prefer Campari. In the last 12 months, the increase in interest in Aperol has been almost three times greater than Campari: +71% compared to +25%.
“The wine sector is one of those that in recent years has driven the online growth of the food & beverage sector, which for a long time was relegated to the offline dimension only”, commented Antonio Pilello, Head of Communications at Idealo Italia. “The increase in online interest is linked to the possibility of savings offered by e-commerce and price comparison, but also to a wider range of offers: Just think of the emergence of the new digital wine shops that offer interesting selections and discounts, but also of the digitization of wineries and wineries that have decided to diversify their business with the onset and continuation of the Covid-19 pandemic”.